A Bridge Between Worlds
by Gin-Ex-Machina
Summary: Shinichi Izumi finally reaches the conclusion of his twisted, inhumane and bizarre journey, and has obtained his own definition of what it means to be a human. When he and Satomi Murano depart to Tokyo's 20th ward, Nerima, to celebrate their 4th anniversary as a couple, a gluttonous ghoul will leave an unalterable gash on Shinichi's heart forever.. [On Hiatus..]
1. Henceforth, I Am The Eternal Truth

Author Notes

**I do not own Parasyte and Tokyo Ghoul in any way shape or form, and all the rights belong to the original owners. I, Gin-Ex-Machina, am in no way trying to make financial profit from these characters in my fanfic. Please support the official release. Yada ya da yada...**

First and foremost, let me introduce myself. I am Gin-Ex-Machina, but please refer to me as Gin or Gem in the future.

This is my very own debut fanfic on this site, I truly hope that It'll be something that might entertain you all. Please don't hesitate to point out my writing flaws, but please be respectful. Also If you like what I wrote, the whole idea, gist and concept, please say so. This chapter after all is nothing but a pilot, and unless there is a demand for it I will not continue writing this story.

Now on to the more important part of these notes.  
If you haven't read either the Parasyte manga or the Tokyo Ghoul manga, then I recommend you to do so, of course It's not imperative to do so, but then you won't be spoiled during the duration of this fanfic. Also, I cannot guarantee when the next chapter comes, if it does at all. I'll try to keep a steady schedule, but I can't promise anything, _yet_ anyway.

But enough digression, I wish you all lots of reading pleasure.

* * *

_[Chapter 1 - Henceforth, I Am The Eternal Truth]_

* * *

_''**What could be worse a source of pain for a person? The pain of losing a parent, the pain of losing a child, the pain of losing the sibling, the pain of losing a friend, the pain of losing a spouse, the pain of losing anyone whom you've loved and cherished in life itself.'' **_

_**''Life is not easy. It pulls us through all sorts of exams and tests before and teaches us the lesson afterwards and even then you would, No couldn't understand it until many years pass. But above everything else, life is plain random. You never know what turn it will take, what path it holds for you.''**_

_**''One thing however is certain.. **__**Death is the only certainty in life.**__**''**_

_**\- Shinichi Izumi  
**_

* * *

_'196.'_

The young man gruntedas he relaxed his right arm allowing his body to fall towards the dirty pavement, that was strewn all across the train station.

"Hnngh," the adolescent exerted.

Pain and stress built up in his muscles as he halted his descent to the disgusting pavement, the glasses wearing adolescent remains there, straining his right arm under the weight of the youth's body.

_'I couldn't help it,' _Was what raced through his mind, while staring at his ordinary right hand, a smile encroached his cheeks as the the boy recalled old memories.

_'Migi.'_

The adolescent halted in his movement, he maintained the perfect balance on his right arm, while nearly touching the polluted pavement beneath him.

_'So much has changed for me hasn't it.. Ever since you returned to slumber. Being unable to graduate from high school..'_

_'Failing a lot of college entrance exams, dooming my chances of a happy, stable future.. Running into that dangerous serial killer, Kabuto Uragami, who nearly took Satomi away from me.. And Migi saving her, just in time the nick of time..'_

_'Telling her about everything that happened to me.. Gosh, it was just as weird as admitting that you have a strange fetish..'_

The adolescent couldn't suppress the cold shakes that went through his body, as all those thoughts assaulted him within a single moment.

_'Hope that I never have to do something like that ever again,' _He bemused solemnly.

He gritted his teeth as he rose himself towards the sky once again, sweat dripping down his forehead and splashing on the frame of his expensive, black rimmed Rey-Ben glasses.

_'197,' _the boy counted once again, before dropping to the murky pavement again.

He felt regret growing on and on within his mind, he hated this, being so weak. All he needed was power, power to protect what he deemed important, but even after a cumulation of years, he felt that he improved nothing.

_Tae Kwan Do_, _Judo_, _Karate_, _Kendo_ or even _Muay Thai_, none of the skills he picked up over the course of three painfully stagnant years helped him in anyway whatsoever, it felt as if he has just been entertaining the paranoia he managed to pick up after the many events he had witnessed. And even now, the adolescent still entertaining his paranoia, preparing for event that that might not even come to pass, Shinichi Izumi sighs as he pushed his body away from the pavement, panting heavily while he did so.

_'198.'_

All the boy did was wasting his time preparing himself for a scenario that would never happen, neglecting everything that has value in his life in the process, he wasting precious time that he could spend with his, father, _Kazuyuki_, his friends, _Yuko, Akiho_ and_ Uda,_ or his lover,_ Satomi_.

_'199.'_

But he couldn't.. He couldn't live a peaceful life knowing that parasites like_ Gotou, Mr. A or Hideo Shimada_ still walked around on the globe, it would feel unfair to all of those who died during the rampage of these beings, it would feel unfair to his _Mom_ and _Kana_. He just couldn't live with himself if he simply stood by and watched as more and more Parasites started to from organized groups, trying to keep appearances amongst the human society they live in.

The Parasites have adapted so well in the last couple of years that they are _almost_ indistinguishable to humans now, now they feed mostly on human food, lowering the death toll that was once, impeccably large, allowing the whole parasite incident fade like a suppressed nightmare in only 3 years..

But so much was still so uncertain for Shinichi.

There was only one light in the tunnel of stagnant darkness, it's the ability he gained through Migi and his extensive training, it's the only semblance of a clue he has in the dank darkness that enveloped him day and night.

_A killing sense.._

It's the ability to intercept killing intent and sense it as a physical phenomenon, like that dark feeling that broods a person when he is watched. Yet, even though the boy had gained an competence that could only be described as _Supernatural_, it was far from perfect, it was far from what Migi was able to do and it's far from being water proof, it was simply more of a drag to rely on it than to go on without it.

Sensing others parasites is nearly impossible for the youth anyway, it's only somewhat reliable when the source is close to the boy, and even then, he still wouldn't know for _certain_ if it was a parasite or just a sadistic human being looking for trouble, for all he knew, there could be one right behind him, and he wouldn't notice.

And that **scared** him more than _anything else_..

The adolescent was about to drop down to the pavement again for another push-up, but to the boy's surprise the area that surrounded him darkened fiercely, indicating that something blocked the sun near him.

_'No.. It couldn't be a parasite, **could it**?'_

For a while he remains frozen, waiting for this fog of darkness to lift and allowing him to enjoy the sun on his exposed skin again, but to the boy's dismay the darkness stood motionlessly, eerily waiting just like he was. Lifting his head slowly upwards, the boy noticed a set of large eyes staring right back at him.

"Whoa!" A startled shout was all that escaped his mouth, before he fell face first on the dirty pavement.

The youth winced as the sharp and loose pebbles on the pavement dug into his mostly unprotected face.

"Ah!" The meek voice responded, the sound of fright practically leaking from it.

"Shinichi, are you okay?" The voice recoiled quickly, foregoing the previous tone of fright it had, replacing it with worry.

The glasses wearing adolescent conferred as Shinichi grimaced in pain as he pushed himself to his feet, he ran a hand through his smooth hair, checking if it was still styled backwards as the boy left it, but bangs have fallen in his peripheral sight, feeling rather indolent he let the ruffled bangs stay where they are. The boy found himself sighing as he began preening his sleeveless, black shirt, brushing away the lingering dirt with his toned arms. He reciprocated the same methodical cleaning ritual with his khaki cargo pants, and an another sigh quickly freed itself from his lips.

He recently acquired the habit of sighing whenever the situation calls for it, it was a troublesome habit, but it sometimes earned some chuckles from either his friends or family so he decided to stick with it for the time being, it did relieve some of the social tension after all.

Shinichi gazed upon the owner of the of the meek voice, he found himself staring at the smaller girl planted just in front of him. She stood at nearly the same height as himself, just a head shorter. Her maroon colored hair glistening in the bright afternoon sun, thin strands of hair masquerading her pale face, its length surpassing her shoulders and tied into a nice, but simple braid. She wore a frilly, rose colored cardigan with a dull gray tank top underneath and sky blue, tight fitting, jeans, that looked quite roughed up.

She stares back into Shinichi's copper brown eyes with her own set of chestnut colored beads, her eyes radiating eagerness, happiness and comfort.

He found himself with a lump in his throat before he could respond properly, "..Yeah, don't worry. I'm fine, Satomi."

The maroon haired girl dubbed as Satomi smiled a warm and gentle at the boy as a result, he couldn't help but turn redder at the sight of her smile, a sight he haven't seen for a while now, not wanting her to see his embarrassment, Shinichi's eyes deviate away from Satomi.

Shinichi felt a slight tug at his arm, and he re-focuses his gaze back to Satomi.

"Shinichi!" She suddenly announced firmly, her expression equally as firm as her voice.

Shinichi's face contorts into a variety of different expression each more confused than the next. "Ah... Uh.. Yea?"

"Are you _really_ Shinichi Izumi?" She quizzed, with a innocent expression written all over her meek face, stressing on the 'really' part of her sentence, her lips soon curled into a glee as she gazes at Shinichi's right hand.

_'I..'_

Shinichi's eyes reflexively follows Satomi's eyes to his right hand, but it remains simply the same as he lets it be, _motionless_, _lifeless_ and mostly _Migi-less._

A wry smile encroaches on the adolescent's face, as he recalled the night that started it all...

Shinichi's mind slowly phased back to reality, to the dull train station he stood on with his lover, waiting for their train to Tokyo's 20th ward, Nerima.

The absent-minded young adult was about to drop to the floor to exert his body again with a series of push-ups, when he noted an passive-aggressive Satomi staring impatiently at him, clearly repressing her frustration.

_'Huh, wait what?!'  
_

_'Oh right! I totally forget to answer her,'_ The young adult rubbed the back of his head awkwardly in realization.

"Of course, silly. I'm me, who else can I be," Shinichi replied with a half grin plastered on his face.

"Huh? What are you going on about? The train has arrived, Shinichi-kun." Satomi exclaimed confused, darting her eyes all over her surroundings, searching for something, the youth presumed.

The boy felt his own eyebrows furrow in confusion at her response, she did say something, right?

_'I swore that she asked me if I-' _The young man's thoughts were quickly broken by his parter, Satomi.

"Shinichi! The Train!" She bellowed loudly, repeating only the important parts of her previous sentence, whilst pointing to the train to emphasize her point.

_'Huh? Wait.. WHAT?!' _Awareness slugs the teen like a sledgehammer, and he could feel his mouth drop in response.

The boy straightened his toes to look over Satomi, and yes, there it stood, the train to Tokyo's 20th ward, Nerima, anxiously waiting until it could depart for the next destination. Scanning his surroundings with great haste, Shinchi manage to spot their luggage parked next to an empty bench, with no second thoughts, he sprinted towards their abandoned luggage. Shinichi forcefully took Satomi's luggage and his own luggage in his own hands, while making a soft dash towards the nearly departing bullet train.

"Hey! Shinichi-kun, wait!" Her argument was in vain as Shinichi already dashed, she made quick strides in order to catch up.

The thing the young man didn't anticipate however was the fact that train would be stationed as far away from them, it seems he didn't take into account that the train had shifted train tracks, despite the simple fact that the information had been displayed on the electrical time time table just within his view. The adolescent didn't even turn his head, if they missed this train they could be stranded for hours before the next one arrives, one hour of waiting is_ fine_, but not _two_ of them in the same day no less.

"Of course! _After_ we get into the train!" the brown haired teen bellowed, stressing on the _'After'_ part of his sentence as his legs automatically stride to catch the train.

The closer they were to the train's entrance, the more both Satomi and Shinichi start to realize that they weren't going to make it.

Out of desperation, the boy threw his heavy suitcase and Satomi's luggage into the train with meticulously calculated accuracy.

Both hers as well as his own luggage flew inside the train, in a rather_ nice _arc.

_'Courtesy of not being fully human,' _The teen thought while trying to suppress a grin.

The action did earn some annoyed glares from the people who were already positioned inside the train, but frankly Shinichi didn't care a bit about their bruised egos or startled glares.

"Satomi! C'mon!" He yelled vexatiously, whilst slowing down a tad.

She closed the distance between herself and Shinichi, without wasting a single moment, The youth hoisted her in his arms, bridal style, whilst still running. Shinichi took a deep breath as she dug her head into his chest, for safety purposes.

Shinichi ran.. _fast_. Faster than any ordinary human ever could hope to achieve on it's own..

He crossed the entire latitude of the train station in a fraction of a second or two. A loud noise echoed throughout the train station, the well known signal that the train was allowed to go on with its timeless journey. As the doors began to close in slow-motion, Shinichi contorted his body so Satomi and he could fit through without too much issue, but the youth has forgotten to calculate that their own luggage would block their entry.

_'Oh shit!'_

The youth tripped over their own luggage, causing him to yet again eat dirt with his mostly unprotected face, and Satomi to fly head first into the adjacent doors, needless to say it hurts..

..Like _a lot_.

Shinichi perked up at the sound of laughing, and there he saw Satomi with the most ridiculous head of hair ever. Her maroon brown hair that usually so straight and elegant, was now extremely disheveled, probably due to Shinichi's overwhelming speed, her hair was simply an afro of spiky hair and a misshapen braid now. Unbeknown to him, he himself didn't look too sharp either.

"Pff.. Kchh.. Hahaha!" Shinichi cracked, unable to hold back his laughter.

The both of them laughed vigorously, ignoring everyone else, as the train began to depart to our new destination.

* * *

**...**

* * *

'_I've finally managed to snag a pair of seats after standing for like..._'

Shinichi interrupted his own thoughts to stare blankly at his pocket watch, he didn't quite like what he saw.

_'...Hours,' _The youth sighed vehemently as he sags into his seat.

The youth again sighed as he recalled how much effort he had to spend into getting these two seats, he wonders why people could get so hung up on such trivial matters, like seats for crying out loud. How would he know that the man was going to bathroom for a bit, it isn't like the man left a sign saying..

_Toilet Break! Don't you even think of touching my seat, punk!_

_'Ugh..' _Shinichi thought with distaste.

He was arguing with that guy for at least 10 minutes, until Satomi jumped in the middle and the man immediately started flirting with her.

_'I wasn't even three feet away from him, It's a good thing I don't fight unless I need to,'_ Shinichi thought with a seething expression on his form.

The man was about choke me for taking his seat a few minutes ago, and after seeing Satomi, he just got up and left after she asked him politely, and he even had the audacity to flirt with Satomi.

_'Best.. First.. Train ride.. __..**Ever**.. Of all time..' _Shinichi reflected with _enjoyment, _no really, he did somewhat enjoy it_, despite everything_.

Shinichi has been staring out of the window for a while and still hasn't seen anything but plains, seems like guess Japan isn't as mountainous as the boy originally weened.

His disappointment shows as he sighs a sweer, intolerable and deep sigh that is nearly the manifestation of Shinichi's_ impeccable_ boredom. Looking outside, he couldn't espy much, but an gigantic moving Gaussian blur out side of his window, the view was muddled with vibrant greens that you would often spot in a child's finger painting class.

_'Dull.. really,_' The youth added in his bored mind.

A yank at his hand brings the adolescent's attention to something new, well _mostly_ new.

_Satomi_.

_'At least her hair doesn't look as it's been in the microwave anymore,' _Shinichi mused casually, while trying to prevent himself from snickering at the mental image that had formed in his mind.

"Yo," He said suavely, in response to her yanking.

The maroon haired girl, smiled wryly at the youth's response, she wipes a lock of hair away from her eyes, before sitting on the edge of her seat adjacent to my own, with curiosity welling up in her eyes.

"Have you made any progress on your _novel_ yet, Shinichi-kun?"

_'Oh yes,_' Shinichi mused sarcastically in response.

The youth's _pet_ project, for the last five months. he has been doing nothing but wrestling with that inner demon known as writer's block. To make matters worse Shinichi hasn't even_ begun_ on a title yet, just whenever he tries writing something..

_Well.._

Something _bad_, usually happens..

Shinichi makes quite a face as he scrolls through his _less_ fonder memories.

_'Like that time I nearly finished my first draft on my laptop, and I accidentally drop it to the floor, destroying my hard drive with my story on it.'_

The youth adjusted his glasses nervously-

_'Or the time I fell asleep after having a creative burst for 3 hours straight, I forgot to save it, subsequently my father turned my laptop off, with my story on it.'_

-While playing with his hair very restlessly.

_'Or even the time when I stayed at Satomi's place, and I made some really useful notes of one of my characters, before her cat tore it to pieces, with, yet again, my story on it.'_

Shinichi couldn't help but sigh, _really _loudly_._

_'Yeah.. Bad stuff,' _He reflected.

_'Worst thing is that I have less than four months to get ready in pristine condition edited and all before It'll be released in the stores. __But at least she loves it, and my earlier works. Which in itself might be a miracle,' _The boy groveled.

Snapping out of his daze rapidly, Shinichi did his best to respond_ honestly_.. Well.. With _honesty_, he meant _mostly_ truths.. Mostly _half-truths_ that is, only to not make Satomi worry..

"I.. uh.. Have been researching on a wide variety of subjects now, and I've fleshed out the back story of my deuteragonist. Still thinking of a better title though." Shinichi replied meagerly, adjusting my glasses with his thumb once again, all the while trying to prevent my shame from showing.

Shinichi has definitely been researching, but not always for his story.. He couldn't help but giggle internally, as he recalled his old works that he had written previously on a site known as Fanfiction dot net.

_'I can't honestly believe I wrote such childish smut, Oh man.. Good thing that Internet anonymity exists.'_

Shinichi couldn't help but sigh with disappointment of his lack of work lately, it really made a dent in his motivation overall.

"Any Idea what you're gonna call it?" The young college graduate asked, snapping the youth _yet again_ out of his daze.

He shook my head, biting on his bottom lip, it seems it counts as a response for Satomi, as she immediately followed up in the conversation.

"Maybe you should name it; The Amazing Shinichi and his Inhuman Righty!" She beckoned proudly, puffing out her chest as if to reinforce her words, with mischief eyes rested upon Shinichi.

"Pffft... Oh really now?" The perplexed youth manage to sarcastically mutter under his breath, nearly holding back his smile.

She nodded, not even noticing the sarcasm loaded in her boyfriend's voice.

_'The sad thing is that it **still** is a title, a weird one, but much more than I have thought of as of recently,' _The adolescent reflected embarrassedly.

"Really _mature_ of you Satomi, you truly are a living example for all future adults," Shinichi responded half sarcastic, half chuckling.

Satomi exposed her tongue in Shinichi's direction, ''Oh heck yeah, you should be writing a book about me instead.''

''Don't push it, girly.''

Shinichi relaxed back into his seat, letting the comfortable seat completely support his body weight, he glanced around in the train wagon and he noticed a variety of people in the wagon but, his eyes befall on a mother and daughter, they seem to be counting the clouds in the sky, and a sudden warmth hits the youth like a truck as he gazed at the scene, recalling his own mother fondly.

Those memories always seemed to come in both short bursts as well as with quite a heartache.

_'Why does this still hurt..?'_

_'Wasn't this situation long resolved? I thought.. That I gave it a place a long time back.'_

_'Why?'_

Shinichi frantically tugs at his chest as intense pain shot through him, like a bullet, he dug his fingernails deep inside his shirt, his breathing turned restless, heat converged in both Shinichi's body and mind, like the furnace in his body is suddenly jerked to a whopping 130 degrees Celsius. Pain flooded his body wildly, as Shinichi drank the air hurriedly.

His chest would always get worked up after seeing a mother and child, like this.

_'But, why now? '_ The youth wondered as in began to contact in pain, for him this chapter used to be closed, it should be just an old wound now.

He wanted to cry, to just let loose the colossal abundance of emotion that filled his heart, on the spot. No matter how much pain the youth endured, he could never cry, that was a luxury he once had, when he was still a normal human being. Just like before, his heart would ache heavily, but his head remains unnaturally cold, calm and collected.

But even _though_ Shinichi could think calmly..

_'Why doesn't the pain stop?'_ Shinichi questioned himself, despite knowing that he would receive no response.

Shinichi clatters to the cold floor of the train wagon, unable to support his weakening body, only able to to watch on as the pain intensifies, not even able to scream out in agony. He couldn't even feel the impact anymore, as my entire body turned numb from the pain. Satomi looked at Shinichi with worry, _very_ clear in her facial expression, she clasps her hands on his shoulders, and shakes Shinichi wildly in fear.

''Shinichi!''

Shinichi's head began to lighten in response to the heavy thrashing, Satomi's frantic shouts of worry began to slowly fade out, he starts to lose control of his consciousness.

''Are... Y-... Okay, Shinichi?!''

''Sh... Ichi.''

The boy's vision starts to grow weaker and weaker, and he couldn't completely make out the plethora of people that surround him, but the unique ones still stood out to the youth. Satomi, kneeling by his side, _crying_.. The mother and her daughter, both shocked and in awe.. The rude guy, from the seat dispute, calling for the help as he left the wagon..

And many more, simply staring at him, suffering from the bystander's effect..

But Shinichi's eyes rest on a woman, who seems _different_, she has lavender purple locks, donning red rimmed glasses and a white dress with black and red horizontal stripes printed on it, he _couldn't_ put his finger on it, on the strangeness that is. She was almost out of my peripheral vision, _yet_ something drew him to her. She looks at him with..

_'Interest?'  
_

However, before everything turns to black, Shinichi witnesses her eyes darken, his heart skipped a beat, as a familiar feeling washed over his, a cold, fearful and dark feeling.

_'Murderous intent..?'  
_

Then everything turns dark, and Shinichi lose sight of himself in the haze of darkness, only the bloody red fog in his eyes seeing him off, as he departs to the land of dreams.

* * *

**!Scene Break!  
**

* * *

**"Are you really Izumi-kun?" **A voice called out in distress, who was it again..?

_'Sa... To.. Mi'_ Shinichi managed to form inside his blurry mind.

Before he could further probe his mind for answers, his thoughts were interrupted by the next set of familiar voices.

**"SHUT UP!" **Another voice screamed, the shrill tone seemed to reach to the end of my being, Shinichi could feel all of its animosity, that voice was definitely_ his._

Shinichi began to recall this scenario in his mind, it was during the time Satomi was drifting further and further away from him, due to his own increasingly cold demeanor, he felt pained during this discovery as there was nothing he could do to prevent him from listening to this scene, _again._

_'who wouldn't be drifting away from me if they saw what I did during that time,'_ the youth solemnly confessed to himself.

**"I'm sorry.. I've mistaken you for someone else,"** The soft voice muttered jittery, from the sound of it the owner may very well break into a_ pitiful_ mess of tears, frantic footsteps took the stage and was all he could hear _time and again_.

Till it ended and only silence reigned in this desolate darkness Shinichi found himself in, slight aches settled within him as the old wound reopened once again. He felt disgruntled as moments passed, confusion and unease stacking up rapidly in his already foggy mind, millions of questions piling up like dozens of paperwork, banging on his head and screaming for his undivided attention.

_'It hurts..'_

_'My mind hurts..' _Shinichi repeated.

But above all, he felt ashamed at the sight of the former scene taking place, a shame that was buried a long time ago with a plastered on smile on his cheeks, whilst doing so, Shinichi hoped that smiling would allow him to forget the harsh thing he put her through, and experienced himself.

_'But that would be me just lying to myself wouldn't it?_' His fake smile soon faded.

_'I never apologized for yelling to her did I?'_ The conflicted adolescent realized, it felt terrible for him that he forgot that, especially after hearing once again how he acted to her, how he had _mistreated_ her..

Shinichi could only feel even more gloomy and grim as a result, causing him to confess to himself that he truly is worst boyfriend ever.

_'I should definitely apologize to her later.'_ He declared to himself firmly, it didn't ease up on any of the shame and regret he felt, but at least it was a start, one that meant that things may finally shift into a better tone, and change towards something of better nature. Yet, he gained the distinct feeling that nothing was going to change to for the better, as the shivers settled down his spine. _  
_

A bloody, crimson glow, only inches away from him, catches his attention and upon making eye contact with it,_ he_..

_..Froze  
_  
Like a deer staring into a car's bright headlights..

A pair of humongous irises were focusing their gaze on him, and him only, they were circular in shape and stretched far and wide through the perpetual darkness, he briefly wondered, why he _didn't noticed_ it earlier, but Shinichi shoved those thoughts away for another time, a _better _time, a _safer_ time. Because something else screeched for his scrutiny, not the fact that giant eyes were ogling right at him, no.. That was the very_ least_ of his problems right now, the real danger lies in what they were projecting towards the lost youth, the feeling was awfully familiar to him.

_'Those eyes..'_

A _horrible, vile, twisted, malevolent, dark, gloomy_ and _hostile_ energy, a type of energy that he would recognize many times over if he needed to. Similar to all the world's worst wickedness he faced in his life such as..

_'That mass murder, __Mr. A_.. _The cold and merciless, Tamiya Ryoko.. The destructive, Hideo Shimada.. The cunning yet humane, Tamura Reiko..'_

_'That Parasite that killed her.. And the one that took away mom.. That awfully creepy guy, Miki.. My nemesis_, _Gotou..'_

Gotou's name still brought Shinichi the cold shakes with its mentioning, despite him being long dead, still it seems he still hit a _nerve_ within him, quite _a lot_ of nerves, actually. But, every single one of them radiated the same _despicable_ energy.

_Murderous intent.._

Once again Shinichi felt grateful for the curse he had gained several years ago, long after Migi departed.. Yes, the only superhuman competence he has, a pathetic one, as it is reliant to loads of other variables, but useful nonetheless.

The youth stood tensed, his body was ready to veer into _combat mode_ whenever he needed to, but..

The moment _never_ occurred.. The eyes only radiated this _sensation_, it did nothing other than that, as if the sight before him was frozen in time itself, unable to move even the smallest bit, _stuck_ in its cage or _frozen_ like he himself was. Shinichi felt intrigued by the view before him, he felt curious, something he had _never_, _ever_ felt during these kind of encounters, and it was oddly _soothing_.

_'Have I seen those eyes before?'_ He questioned, as he stretched out his_ Migi-less_ hand.

Shinichi hesitantly edged forward, towards the giant irises, he collected all of his courage and primed his body for any resistance, any warning that might indicate things might turn for the_ worst_.

Yet, _nothing happened_? Well, _yet_ anyway..

As he confronted the giant ominous irises, they light up, glowing in the same familiar crimson glow the youth noticed earlier. He would be perplexed by the whole spectacle if the glowing visual organs didn't..

_Lit up, like a match_ and** _blew up_**..

* * *

**!Scene Break!  
**

* * *

Shinichi's eyes blew open, with a force similar to a_ bullet_ impacting on a slab of strong _concrete._

Immediately, the youth's eyes stung as if concentrated acid was eating away at his eyes, burning its way to his skull so to speak.

Shinichi's eyes began to drizzle, and his vision was imperfect to say the least, specks of white spots blurred his current vision, making the youth feel as if he has now woken from a year's worth of sleep, or a long coma.

_'Was that all a dream?'_

A large daunting, unrepairable gash centering itself in his vision, the crack was disgusting to say the least.. Shincihi couldn't exactly place the feeling he has, but it's making his stomach churn in disgust as he further examined the shattered glass crystals, the tiny crack wedges open further and further forming more cracked glass crystals, the discomfort inside his increases steadily and an impulse shot itself to through his body.

The sounds of cracking glass grows louder and louder, as his fingers jerked up and down violently digging into the broken mass.

_Scratch.._

_..._

_Scrape.._

_..._

_Crack.._

_..._

_Grate.._

_..._

_Rasp.._

_..._

_Snap!_

The wounded youth precipitously halted in his sudden scratching mania, contemplating why he even began scraping at his glasses in the first place,  
Shinichi hoisted his left arm to take off his already broken glasses, but he found myself in a rather difficult situation for him and a plethora of broken, disarranged thoughts were flung around though him, as the youth laid eyes on his left hand.

_'Huh?'_

_'C'mon!'_

_'What the actual-!'_

The sight that greeted him was something akin to horror movie, specifically something zombie related.

The youth's hand was torn and cut into a revolting, vile lump of flesh, he could vaguely peg my own muscle tissue, he doesn't even think there was still any skin tissue left on his morbid hand and some of the adolescent's fingers displayed flexibility that he never thought was _humanly_ possible... In a hurry to cleanse himself from this_ awful bodily horror_, Shinichi grabbed all his contorted fingers with uninjured other hand _and_..

_And..?_

_'Why the hell is this arm still fine?'_ Shinichi bemused somewhat angrily.

''Selfish prick_, _You just couldn't protect my other arm, couldn't you?" The perplexed youth cursed at his _Migi-less_ hand, yet as always he received no response from it, Shinichi's face contorted into a amusing shit-eating grin.

"Still.." He paused, his overly large grin shifting into a wry smile. "Thanks for saving my good..." He took a deep breath, and solidified my mind.

'_Oh,_ _this is gonna** hurt**..'_

"AAAAAAARRRRM AAAUGH!" He yelled, as he snapped all of his contorted fingers on his left hand back in their original position, the healthy position.

A sickening snap echoed around him, seemingly going onwards forever and so did the boy's scream of agony, if he could cry he probably would simply, because he's _way_ too unfamiliar with these levels of physical pain, sure he was stabbed in the arm once, but he hardly felt that. After the fit of pain subsided he took a better look at his injured arm, the sight was... _Somewhat_ more comforting than before. For the most parts his arm was loaded with scrapes, bruises and cuts.

Though, there appeared to be a big shard of glass embedded in his upper arm, luckily for Shinichi it wasn't bleeding _that_ much, probably due to the shard blocking the only way out for his precious bodily fluids.

_'Considering how deep it went I'm glad it doesn't-!' _He would rue the day that he tried to make such an stupid assumption..

"Aahw! Holy snipes!" The youth hollered in anguish, he clucked his tongue in annoyance.

_ 'I guess this must be karma for something,'_ Shinichi inferred bitterly, cursing the existence of some _higher deity_ that took a liking to his suffering.

He flicked his index finger at the large protruding shard of glass, in hindsight that wasn't too _bright_ of him..

"Ow..! That's _definitely_ stuck," He re-confirmed out loud, while clenching his right fist to take his mind off the growing pain.

_'Where am I anyway?'_ Shinichi inferred curiously, while brushing the dirt out his dark chocolate colored locks.

He tried to heave his wounded body forward, but yet _another_ source of pain unfurled its ugly head to _undermine_ the boy's progress.

_'Yeah.. Ugh.. Definitely two, three.. No.. four broken ribs, oh yeah definitely four,'_ Shinichi rationalized painfully, while clutching his chest hoping the pain would subside soon as he held his broken bones together.

The broken youth wheezed heavily as he stood on his very own two feet again, albeit a bit wobbly, it's feat he will _never_ take for granted from this day onwards, luckily his legs were still fully intact, mostly anyway..

..If you ignored the scrapes, burns and much smaller objects embedded into his leg, which Shinichi tries to remove and to his surprise it went well without to much predicament.

He could finally oversee the carnage that transpired the train he was inside only moments ago, and what a carnage it was.

From the looks of things, he was unconscious on train tracks; elevated high above the busy streets of what I assume was Tokyo.

Loads of police cruisers blotted the roads below the train tracks, the red and blue lights prickled my eyes, as a result I quickly turned away from the stinging sensation and my point of view shifted to the train itself..

Most of the front of the train was in a minty condition, even if he counted the distortion in front of the train it was far to small to be another train.  
Relief found its way though the youth's broken body during this realization, he embraced this sensation by wheezing out deeply.

_'I guess they didn't slammed head first into another train, that's a good-!'_ he thought with an optimistic tone, before interrupting myself.  
_  
'Could there be other survivors then?!'_ I inquired with both relief and tension.

Then the boy's eyes spun to the other side of the of the large vehicle, and all he saw was crushed, broken, fragmented and even splintered metal littering the train tracks for miles as far his enhanced eyes could grasp.

Entire wagons were catapulted into various numbers of skyscrapers, like a supernatural, sadistic storm forming itself just above the train.  
Plumes of dark smoke coiled themselves above the sunny sky, nearly blotting out the sun itself.

Oh, and the _smell_, _oh the smell_..

It was irony and metallic and simply vastly spread across this very district of Tokyo, the youth was pretty certain that even over a distance of two kilometers, he would still be able to ascertain this smell.

_Blood_, naturally, it was _reeking_ of blood, the blood of all the innocent that boarded the train, the men, boys, women, girls and children.

Yet, as the world around him seemed calm and serene, the boy's heart was far,_ far_, _**far**_ from calm and serene.

_ 'Oh no..'_

_..._

Sweat tickles down Shinichi's face and the droplets slowly descend to the tracks below.

...

_'Oh no no no.'_

_..._

Adrenaline was pumped through his veins, his vision began to tunnel, the large crack on his glasses began centering itself in that tunnel.

...

_'No.. **No!**'_

Shinchi visibly flinch and grimace as the truth unveiled itself to him.

His knees start to quiver uncontrollably, in _fear_.

But that fear was not meant for himself though..

But for..

_'Satomi!'_ Her name bursts in his head like a armed grenade awaiting it's inevitable explosion.

He tossed his broken glasses from his face, he can note how the crystal within the glasses grow even more unstable before the crack spreads even further as the glasses sail through the sky.

He fortified his heart and kicked through the doors that granted entry to the many passenger that stepped on this train, and Shinichi heaved himself inside into the minty, yet splintered wreckage.

_And ran like the flames from the wreck in the distance licked his heels.._

* * *

**...**

* * *

The sight that greeted the youth during his journey throughout the devastated train wagons was far worse than he could grasp, somewhere in his mind he would find Satomi the moment he stepped inside however, the deities were never that forgiving, especially to him.

Almost equal in severity to the massacre that happened twice during his high school days, it was sickening.

If the once human, _carcasses_, weren't ripped apart by superhuman force, they would be a mesh of horribly disfigured flesh, or skeletons that took a liking to half eaten chicken with pieces of flesh adorning the, that is if they were the target of my_ enemy_.

And those were the _lucky_ ones though believe it or not, since they didn't have to suffer for long.. Though the shattered fragments of Shinichi's once bountiful humanity would _obviously_ veto that notion entirely.

As the young man progressed further back the wagons of the ravaged train the stream deceased began to wither and the flow of living, yet _anguished_ humans would increase tenfold, stacked and strewn about in the wrecked wagons, akin to live stock about to be slaughtered, just wishing for it to end. Even though the young stripling has become as calm and emotionless as he was during the last couple of years, he just _couldn't_ abandon them.

It would go against the very root of his values, against the Shinichi Izumi he once was.

So Shinichi tried to _save _them..

That in it self must be the biggest_ joke_ of the century, as the juvenile could do nothing, as more and people passed away in agony and despair. Just more and more blood on the hands of the _non-human,_ Shinichi Izumi, there was absolutely _nothing_ he could do to ease their pain or answer to their final worries, or aid them to find their loved ones, as he was too occupied selfishly searching for Satomi himself.

He began to beat himself up over it, _again and again,_ with each child, man, woman and elderly person that died in his arms, or that he had to abandon in order to save time.

The boy remember every single one of their names, and he is forced to continue to do so, as they haunted his mind, but several lent him his very first clue amongst this devastation. Most of their stories contradicted each other _greatly_, yet there was a reoccurring element present in most of their recollections.

"_Ghouls.._" Shinichi mumbled absent minded, as he continued to vaults over various ruined seats that obstructed his path.

He hasn't got a single clue what he's up against, though the the term itself seems to buzz latent memories in his mind, although no worthwhile data about ghouls seemed to conjure in his head; much to his dismay..

From what the youngster had heard, they're superhuman.. _No_..

..Rather _supernatural_ in nature.

Comparing that intel to any parasyte he had fought and he knew that the Ghoul's were far superior to Parasites, as the ghouls were able to afflict this kind of damage to the train in _mere_ minutes, a high-speed train that traveled many, many miles faster than _he_ could even fathom.

Shinichi felt extremely anxious to head into combat against such overwhelming opponents, one wrong move and I could end up like a young girl who's name is also burnt in my memories, she was...

_..Legless..._

Shinichi began to absentmindedly recall adversaries who might be able to compete with these inhuman enemies, his mind immediately to jumped to the _most capable one_.

_'Gotou__..'_

_'Well, maybe Gotou could match their raw power.'_ He over analyzed, responding to his own analysis by slapping himself on the forehead.

_'The fourth time.. The fourth time I catch myself admiring him this week.'_ With that he brushed away these uncomfortable thoughts as something new spins in his point of view.

A young woman, slender and tall, in her late twenties or early thirties, lies sprawled across the ruined wagon, her hair was as brown as the outer shell of a coconut, it was loosely tied towards the left side of her, with 3 flowers sprucing it up. Her eyes shared the same shade of brown that her hair has, she was garbed in a beige poncho with a white scarf enriching it, The woman also wore a long brown skirt that fell past her knees, embellished with small leather shoes.

She seemed to be holding a young girl in her arms, not older than 10 years, I presumed.

Just like the other fallen woman she had coconut brown hair and eyes, her locks were straight, and bangs nearly fell in front of her eyes, it was further beautified by her white hair band, with a clover symbol, the child donned a mocha brown blouse with black butterflies printed on it, her jeans were plain, average and a dull gray, topped with brown leather shoes similar to her mother, yet smaller.

Then a pang of awareness _welted_ him,_ hard_, like an immovable object hitting a unstoppable force.

It had to be _them_..

_'The mother and child that caused my heart to spiral into a uncontrollable flux.'_

Shinichi instinctively rushed over, he didn't even register my movements until he was already there.

He crouched, and leaned forward, allowing the distance between his ear and her lips to shorten intensely.

_Wheeze.._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_Pant.._

Good, she was still breathing, albeit a tad faintly, Shinichi whirled his cranium to the child and checked her breathing as well.

_'She seems to be alright too.'_ He collected with relief.

He then wondered..

_'Why are they fine? The wagons I've passed up to this point had either been taken by the dead or the barely living.'_

Shinichi took a moment survey the state of being these two were flung into, both of clothing had been torn to shreds, yet there weren't any scrapes, burns or any of the severe wounds he's seen on the other survivors. Ditto for the child in her arms, damaged clothes, but no open wounds of any kind, heck not even internal wounds.

_'Either they were blessed by the gods.. Or they are **parasites**.'_ The thought caused him to instinctively take a step back.

_'Are they really..?'_ He thought doubtfully, looking away from them, ready to abandon them if needed.

After a minute of plainly staring at the unconscious duo, he sprung into action.

With haste Shinichi scanned around for a quick exit and he spots one of the entryway doors on its hinges, nearly swaying under its own weight.

The teen places a well coordinated kick at the doors causing it topple over and hit the tracks bellow, he made sure not use any excess power as there could be hostiles watching him, trying to gain the upper hand on him, he confirmed one last time if the tracks were safe enough for the three of us. The youth rushed to the young mother, and wrapped his toned arms around her body and made sure her young daughter was snuggly pressed against her, but the mother began to wake in his strong hold.

Shinichi remains stoic and cold as the woman stirred in his arms, and locked her eyes with his.

"_Dear_.. Is that you?" The mother purred softy.

He remain suave and calm as she affectionately referred to him as her husband in a derogatory term, which was shared through our homeland's tongue. Shinichi would like nothing more than to simply state that he wasn't her husband and be done with it and move on as if it never happened. Yet, anyone with a little shred of sympathy and life experience could ascertain from the woman's expression alone, that she was suffering, a lot.

And he could somewhat guess _what_ her predicament was.

_'Either her husband was sick or perhaps injured or.. He could be in another world right now.'_ The teen hypothesized coldly.

So.. he just couldn't get it over his chest to deny her _this_, _moment of longing_.

Thus he remained silent and quietly accept the role given to him. The woman smiles wryly and her eyes flutter before closing entirely.

"What is your name,_ dear_?" She muttered softly.

Feeling pride and old memories swell within him, the youth kindly answered..

"I am_ Shinichi_.. _Izumi Shinichi_."


	2. Monotonous Vista

_**Author Notes**_

**Woohoo!**

**[10k words milestone achieved!]**

Today, I'll explain a tad bit of the structure I've created for ABBW.

This story will be mainly focusing on Shinichi's state of humanity and sanity during the ghoul conflict in the 20th ward, he will see many truths along the way, these truths will shape him in a whole new person entirely.

Also, the incarnation of Shinichi Izumi I'm trying to present is a post-Parasyte future Shinichi, who is comprised out of both the anime version as well as the manga version. He has hardened himself greatly after the events of Parasyte and strives to become stronger in order to protect everyone that allows him to feel like a human being once again.

But, Shinichi won't be the only one we dive into, A variety of other characters will be explored as well, such as Rize and Kaneki.

Tokyo Ghoul will receive the same treatment as Parasyte, it is a mixture of both the anime as well as the manga, but deviations in the chronological order of events will occur and entirely new arcs will be created too.

There will also be OC's. _Now, I know what you're thinking!  
_But these OC's only play a minor/intermediate role in this fanfic, I can't elaborate on why I've created them as it could spoil a future character dynamic I'm trying to set up. I can assure you these characters are in no way Mary-Sues or Gary Sues. I hope you can enjoy them during the duration of the story.

I hope this enlightens you a bit more about where I am leading this story.

As always, _I wish you all lots of reading pleasure._

* * *

_[Chapter 2 - Monotonous Vista]_

* * *

A loud sigh escaped a woman's lips as she arrived at, yet again, another train station.

She focused intensely on the dreary paint that covered the train station, the purple haired woman sighs with notable agitation, furrowing her brows in irritation.

_'White... I hate the color white,' _She mused to herself with clear annoyance, whilst looking out the large transparent window next to her seat.

She turned her head to her book, closing the copy within moments,_ The Black Goat's Egg _was written on its cover, she returned into gently her handbag.

_'I wonder why humans cling so badly to order and stability, it never works out in their favor. So why bother?' _I asked myself out of sheer curiosity, prompted by the shades of languor white she witnessed many times during her travels.

Her lilac eyes shone as she shook her head, there was no point in worrying about that kind of stuff, it's not like it mattered at all.

Not for _her_ anyway..

_'Nor would I receive an answer from myself, after all.. I'm not human,' _The violet haired woman mused indifferently.

_'I am a ghoul, the natural predator of the sons of mankind. I am Rize, the voracious, the gluttonous, the endascious, the ravenous. I am Rize, the Binge Eater.'_

_'But even I have my own nemesis. Yes.. I'm looking at you.. Mr. Boredom.'_

Yet another sigh escaped her tender lips as she sags backwards into a more comfortable position, her seat squeaked in response to the added weight that her body delivered.

_'This is all just too boring.. Way.. Too.. **Boring!**' _Rize nearly screamed inside her bored mind, whilst adjusting her translucent glasses.

Oh, the perpetuating _boredom,_ Rize's worst enemy, humans or even ghouls don't even come close to this contender, it went everywhere she went, stalking her like a shadow in the night, _without fail_ and _without fatigue_.

_'In all honesty, I'd rather be listening to that bumbling idiot, Banjou, rather than looking at these languor shades of white.' _the femme fatale conceived with large amount of apathy.

She turned her head lazily at the window again; trying desperately to push away the boredom and take in more of my surroundings, maybe she could spot something of worth...

_'Dull white tiles_, _boring benches_, _distasteful people._ _Would it kill someone to just give me some blasted fun?_'

..Or not.

A loud thud spread itself through the wagon she was seated, a sharp shrill scream pierced her ears, followed by the perplexed stares of most of the passengers, most of them slipped forwards trying to see what is going on, and Rize started to get interested as well.

The purple haired woman lifted herself up, swept away by _interest_, unearthed by one of her her primordial desires, _the thirst of knowledge_.

She swerved her way through the panicking horde of frail, weak and feeble humans, her eyes then drooped to the being lying on the cold floor, what she saw was a bronze haired young man, who was wearing quite the expensive glasses as she notices its brand, he was not much older than twenty, at least that is what she could gamble with confidence.

He was struggling to breathe and stay conscious.

Yet, with each passing second the crowding intensified and the adolescent's efforts turned more and more futile, Rize stared into his eyes, and the copper eyed youth found her amethyst blinders.

...

...

...

_'No way..'_

If this was a sign that some higher deity existed, Rize would definitely debate on whether to join it right this instance or not, a devious smile encroached the femme fatale's face, her body began to heat up, warm shivers caressed her spine.

Rize felt _exhilarated_.. No, _Intoxicated_.. No, not even that.. The woman felt _euphoric_.

The heliotrope gal licked her supple lips, her Kakugan started to act up in her eyes sockets, causing her vision to gradually turn redder and redder.

Her eyes burnt with longing, with every moment it became more and more intense as she tries to hold in that sensation.

_'I **can't**!' _The sinister woman roared in her mind.

_'Oh I **can't**!' _She pleaded desperately, fighting the urge to reveal herself as a ghoul.

Finally, her eyes darken completely and a distinctive red hue intruded her vision fully, she refrains with all her willpower to not rip apart the convoy surrounding her, all to reach the prey that incises her lusts.

She could feel this boy's eyes gazing into her true being, her final form.

_And._.

It felt like a piece of Elysium just swept her off her feet and carried her into its fabled paradise.

This is the first time a human intrigued her so much as _he_ does right now, She wishes to learn _more_ about him.. _Much_ _More_..

_'More..'_

And _More.._

And_ More!_

_'More**More**MoreMoreMore**More**MoreMoreMoreMore**More**MoreMoreMoreMore**MORE**!'_

She wanted this boy _more_ than anything this world could offer her, if Rize wasn't trying to escape the past that chased her relentlessly at this very instant, she would have shred this train to pieces, smaller than a_ toothpick_, just to get to _him_, but she can wait a little bit..

_'I'll bide my time_.'

_'Eating him now, would be a waste, as he might turn even more splendid with some time to.. Ferment.' _The femme fatale justified to herself.

Rize repressed the urge of longing, and gradually she felt the red hue decimate from her vision.

''I'm going to _enjoy_ this.'' Rize whispered euphorically, as she watched the young man pass out.

Her eyes finally settle on a maroon haired girl, who was shaking her prey, as if death were chasing her.

* * *

**...**

* * *

"Shinichi! Shinichi-kun!" Satomi screeched with complete horror coursing through her.

She shakes the unconscious body of her boyfriend _wildly_, urging the unconscious youth to wake, however fear kept converging within herself, along with dread, paranoia and_ tears_.

_'Please.. Please stay alive!'_ She pleaded desperately inside herself, as salty fluids drizzle away along the sides of her dainty cheeks.

Satomi brought down her quivering body to brush her ear against Shinichi's lips, hoping to pick up any indication of breathing, at all.

_Pant.._

_Exhale.._

_Gasp..**  
**_

Time passes and the maroon haired graduate found herself immobilized and debilitated, forced to listening to her boyfriend's tormented breathing.

Each breath he exhaled calmed her fear gradually, before uncertainty struck the maiden once again, until his chest heaves upwards thus calming her weak nerves yet again, every time she wondered after each passing breath if it would be his last.

It was a constant cycle of dread and anguish, that _repeated_..

_Again.._

_And Again.._

_And Again.._

_And Again.._

The young woman slithered her auditory organ down to his wide chest, she tentatively listens to the sounds of his_ life_, beseeching that he was just fine, if not for one major complication..

_'Oh No.. Is.. A human heart even capable of this.'_ Satomi questioned and fear begins to flood her unnerved mind, and worry for her inhuman boyfriend clouded her attention.

Shinichi's heart was beating at a alarming rate, so fast in fact, that it grated her feeble ears, she sat there for a while overwhelmed by the uncertainty of the situation till and idea formed in her mind..

_'I have to call an ambulance!'_ She apprised fearfully, albeit nearly shaking inside her own skin.

The colleen checked the pockets of her outfit in a very frenzied manner; nearly tearing out both her jean as well as her cardigan pockets.

_'It's not here! Where! Where is it?! WHERE IS MY PHONE!'_

And then it finally _snapped_.

Her pockets lets loose, and a _sickening_ tear wailed through the wagon she was stationed in.

The stress finally got to the young lass, causing the overwhelming worry for Shinichi to _dictate_ her actions and emotions.

Time seems to fold inside itself from her perspective, the colleen's perception of time was rickety at best, as seconds felt like minutes, and as minutes felt like hours.

She was so in trance that she didn't even notice the multitude of masses simply_ leering_ at her, all of them completely halted in their movements due to the _Bystander Effect,_ such as a mother and daughter, they just stared at her with this dumbfounded look written on their eyes and lips, it really started to exasperate the maroon haired girl, really quickly.

And soon enough the maiden's exasperation transformed into_ fury_.

_'How could they just stare at me and Shinichi, when his life may be in jeopardy!'_ She thought while rage was continuously building up inside her.

Now, usually it can take quite some hits before someone can get the young Satomi angry, but the useless waste of a life can grind her gears more than anything in the world.

And if she wasn't going to do something _very soon_, than Shinichi might _die_, leaving her alone for real..

_'I don't want to lose him..'_

_'I can't lose him..!'_

''**CALL THE AMBULANCE DAMMIT**!'' She vehemently yelled atop of her lacy lungs.

The convoy of dumbfounded people seemed to realize what they've been doing all this time and most of them grab their individual cellular devices and start dialing_ '110'_, the number of Japan's emergency service, no sign of relief or comfort was apparent on Satomi's fair features.

''Shinichi!'' The lass shouted again at the youth, yet, no response came from the unconscious adolescent, just as expected.

''Is there a doctor in this wagon?!'' She cried, desperately looking into her surroundings for anyone, ANYONE, who volunteered.

Most of the people who weren't either calling _'110'_ or are simply_ still_ in shock, stepped away, indicating to her that they weren't what she was searching for.

She turns her petite head to the next set of people and they_ followed_ _suit_..

And _another set followed suit_.

Until no one was standing, except a woman with lavender purple hair, red-rimmed translucent glasses and dress that one could describe as mix of light and dark.

Satomi's eyes widen and her mouth almost dropped to let the word flow from her mouth, but_ then_-

-She crushed my hopes _like it was nothing_.

''Sorry, _toots_. I ain't a doctor, nor do I have any medical knowledge.'' The woman replied coldly, while adjusting her translucent glasses, simply standing where she was, projecting a manner of serenity that disturbed the young college graduate.

The door that separated one wagon from another was swung open with an unholy force, nearly smacking it off its hinges.

Loud _'gasps'_ were audible through the wagon, and most of the passengers were frightened by both that noise and the one that would soon follow..

In the corner of her eye she spotted a rather tall individual, he was quite young and slim. His hair is colored in a very _dirty_ blond manner, and the tips bordered to a shade of brown you would often see in _dirt_, his eyes were hazel but they were nearly glowing too.  
He was dressed to_ kill_, wearing a simple black beanie, a black and yellow diagonally striped hooded jacket, topping it with a baggy pair of black trousers with a very low crotch, he wore various black belts on his sleeves and wore yellow sneakers as well.

''I GOOOOOOOOOT THE DOC, YA!'' The young man shouted elatedly while he ran towards the distressed maiden, she recognized him immediately, it was the man Shinichi had a dispute with before, the same guy who kept flirting with her.

She was about to vent her anger at him in _waves_ until she saw the new person joining his side, Satomi was caught off guard when the young man began introducing this new woman, he started poking her arm until she retracted it, clearly not as amused as the blonde man, he laughed sheepishly before starting to speak.

''This is Yu Zhu Yisha-sensei. She is a doc, she can help ya out.'' He explained laconically with a grin.

The woman known as _Yu Zhu Yisha_ had auburn locks, yet she had the same east Asian features as anyone on this wagon, for Satomi though it seemed like her hair _spewed fire, _it was tied in a simple high ponytail, she wore a plain white blouse and a long black skirt that reached over her knees, topped with _ nerd-like glasse_s.

Compared to tall, blond and _dim_ she seemed like a much more_ normal_ person.

_'It's good Shinchi is out cold, right now. If he was awake he would have probably slugged this guy in the face for being so rude earlier.'_

The titian haired woman simply nods to confirm what the man said about her, she then lowered her herself in a hasty bow, she _stared_ at Satomi, and she flinched for being so suddenly thrown into attention, the chocolate eyes looked kind of _lifeless_, as if the maiden was staring in the eyes of a _dead fish_.

''Move!'' The woman ordered in a very _foreign sounding accent._

Satomi pursed her lips in confusion, she complied, quickly scooting out of her way, though it did took her a couple of seconds to register the woman's command, due to her weird way if speaking.

_'Was that a kansai accent?'_

The maroon haired girl noticed that the lavender haired woman shuffled a tad closer to them, she seems rather eager to keep an eye on them for a particular reason. But she didn't bother to say anything becau-..

''-Not breathing.'' the fire headed doctor interjected halfheartedly, as she placed her ear on Shinichi's lips, worry flooding on her pale face.

Plain _stupor_ coursed through Satomi's entire body, as her body shuts down after hearing those two simple,_ emotionless words_, tt was as if her entire world was chucked away from her hands, the mirror of her life _smashed_ right in front of her.

The maiden stalled, and her mind kept repeating Yu Zhu's words.

_'Not Breathing'_

_'Not breathing. Not breathing'_

_'Not breathing. Not breathing. Not breathing'_

_'NO-!'_

The flame haired woman inched closer to the absent woman in a hurried manner, ''**MA'AM**!''

I tried to impose but the woman _interrupted_ the maiden once again, ''Wha-?''

She positioned herself just behind the unconscious youth's face, ''-I need you to perform chest compressions! You can do that right!?"

''Yeah.. Yeah! I can do that.'' The maiden responded absentmindedly.

Satomi pushed herself towards Shinichi's lifeless body, she steeled my mind, and repeated the motions she has learned in college some time ago.

'Seems like choosing medical occupation was the right thing to do anyway,' She hoisted his shirt upwards, exposing his most vulnerable spot,_ the scar_, Satomi's hands flowed to the center of his life, and sweat pooled on her face as she forced his ribcage back to jump start his heart.

_'27.'_

_'28.'_

_'29.'_

_'30!'_

Satomi moved to Shinichi's lips, _'And now for the mouth-to-mouth.'_

But._._

An enormous pang of jealousy and envy shot through her like a bullet as she witnessed the flame haired woman wilting down to the colleen's boyfriend and folding her lips over his.

Her cheeks expanded and deflated, and in response Shinichi's chest magnified and drained according to her input.

Shinichi began to cough violently and a smile returned to the maiden's form, as he began to breathe in a normal fashion, he didn't wake, but she know that he _will live a little longer now_.

Satomi could somewhat hear the whispers of the blonde youth, something among the lines of 'Lucky Bastard'..

The woman preened her locks before facing the maroon haired again, she looked at her in a disheartened matter, she opened her mouth to to say something when..

Well, this time Satomi _interrupted_ her..

She swung her arms around the woman in pure joy, tears of happiness streaming down my cheeks, her sobbing was, _uncontrollable_.

''_Thank you_.. T..Hank you.. Tha-nk You..''

Yu Zhu stiffened in the girls embrace until after moments she relaxes in her arms, she returned her hug, when she did Satomi could swear she saw a smile creep up on her face.

She broke away and laid her hands on the maiden's shoulders, _staring_ deeply in her eyes once again.

''_Bié kèqì_.'' She said in the most serene, yet foreign sounding voice I've ever heard, I wondered what language she spoke in..

'_Chinese_, _Vietnamese or Korean?'_

For now, Satomi couldn't care about that for a single bit.

* * *

**...**

* * *

Shinichi was peacefully resting in his seat, snoring almost in a _cute_ manner, he looked so at peace this way, Satomi smiled as she caressed his cheek.

''The two of you share a deep relation don't you, Murano-chan?'' The lavender haired woman quizzed with a glint in her eyes.

Satomi's smile broadens into a full blown grin, ''Yes! He's my boyfr-,'' she covered her lips in abruptness, glancing at the direction of the young man, who was dressed to_ kill,_ needless to say he didn't look _very happy_ at her revelation.

''Bloody_ bollocks_..'' He dragged his beanie over his eyes.

The lavender haired woman snickered evilly as she smacked the youth right upside the head. He nearly fell off his seat and I chuckled at the whole suddenness of the situation.

''The hell did ya that for, Kamishiro?!'' The boy wined angrily, rubbing the spot the woman hit him.

''I just felt like it, _big baby_ Daiko-chan.'' The glasses wearing woman teased.

''Also it's Kamishiro-_san_ for you.'' She corrected sternly, whilst glaring daggers at the youth.

''Could you quit calling meh that, ya darn_ twit_!'' He shouted angrily, only earning more amused snickers from Kamishiro in return, complete;y oblivious to the fact Daiko just insulted her.

''By the way Daiko isn't written with the kanji for _big and child_. It's written with the kanji for _big and sit or stand astride_.'' Daiko explained with annoyance, clucking his tongue in Kamishiro's direction.

_'I should thank the two of them too, it wouldn't be fair to ignore their efforts after Yu Zhu-sensei left.'_

''Thank you, Daiko Nagayo-san and you too Kamishiro Rize-san for helping me earlier with Shinichi. I couldn't have carried him in his seat by myself'' The maiden confessed politely.

Kamishiro simply smiled a warm simper in my direction, whilst Daiko lifted his beanie from his eyes, his eyes carried a _flirtatious_ glint.

''No worry, _sugar_. It was easy peasy.'' He added with a wink.

''_Y.. Yeah.._'' She responded, trying to not letting the goosebumps consume both her body _and_ voice.

Silence reigned over them for a while, till Kamishiro broke it by grabbing a book out of her handbag, the maiden could vaguely make out the title,_ The Black Goat's Egg_.

''Oh! You read the works of _Sen Takatsuki_ too, Kamishiro-san!'' I blurted out loud before I realized that I did so.

Kamishiro rose her head, light from outside reflected on her glasses, thus veiling her eyes, she looked at me in a stoic manner, ''You read _her_ works?''

Satomi Sheepishly tilted her head, ''Oh not me, but Shinichi is a fan of her writing style,'' She pointed at the sleeping boy next to her with fondness.

''_I see_.'' the violet haired woman's eyes drifted to the unconscious boy, her lips curled ever so slightly.

Rize looked out of the window and suddenly she closed the book she had just opened moments ago, the woman closes her eyes, and took a strong whiff of the stale wagon air.

_'That's.. Vague,' _The maiden noted in the back of her mind.

''_Big baby_ Daiko-chan, Murano-chan. I'll be leaving you two to your own devices for a bit.'' Rize started in a lackluster tone.

This prompted the younger woman to raise her eyebrows in confusion, looking at Daiko, he... Well, He didn't seem to care too much.

''Huh? Why ya leaving, Kamishiro?'' The youth questioned regardless.

''It's Kamishiro-_san_.'' The woman spat with annoyance, emphasizing the '-san' part of her sentence just like she did earlier.

''I'm just going to the restroom.'' The lavender haired woman elucidated briefly.

With that she stood up took her handbag with her and left Satomi and Daiko alone, and for a while neither of us spoke.

...

Out of sheer curiousity she began to wonder,_ 'How did Daiko-san find Yu Zhu-sensei so soon?' _

''Oh? Trying to gen meh up aren't ya? Eh.. I'll comply.'' The youth suddenly started.

_'Wait I didn't say a thi-! Wait? What's a gen?' _

''So I was like yelling in the other wagons, ya. Searching for a doc, and Yu Zhu actually found meh instead, ya.'' He enlightened, with abundant hand gestures.

''Oh I see..''

''Thing is though, she is really parky. She wouldn't even say more than a single word to meh, ya. So I decided to put a sock in it before she and I would get in a row.'' Daiko elucidated even further, sliding his beanie over his exposed face.

''Uhu..'' Satomi mouthed aloofly.

_'Parky?'_

''Guess the woman is so much of a _cock up_, ya. Perhaps all she needed was a _good snog_, ya.'' The sound of muffled laughther flowed from the beanie, unnerving the younger maiden.

_'Please wake up soon Shinichi..'_

''_R.._ _Right_..'' Satomi responded, whilst rolling my eyes in their sockets.

She looked over Daiko's shoulder, she narrowed her gaze as stared at the door Rize left through.

* * *

**...  
**

* * *

The voluptuous Rize strides forwards, passing each wagon at her very own pace until she has reached her destination, she stood before the restroom door and thought...

_'Shall I at least try to make it half-truth?'_

She beamed, as she walked past the restroom and towards the origin of her ever growing unease.

The very moment she sat across Murano Satomi and next to Daiko Nagayo she knew that something was very _off_, after all, the air in the wagons of the train were stale and murky, yet, a new scent formed, it was irony and ominous and she could clearly recognize it even if her nose was blocked.

It was the delicious scent of _spilled blood_, and there was_ lots and lots of it_.

Only one type of being carries such an _intense_ blood scent, they were the same as _her_.

_Ghouls._

_'They have some gall though, killing humans in broad daylight no less, how can I ignore such daring attention hogging.'_

Rize adjusted her glasses, took a deep breath and took on what she likes to call her 'Binge Eater persona'.

She wasted no time, and pushed the door open with _superhuman_, no, _supernatural_ strength, it was easily extirpated and the remnants of the former door scattered throughout the final wagon.

She stepped inside, her pride and confidence overflowing in the way she swayed her hips with every step, six pairs eyes were forced on her, she rose her head upward and took a long and deep drag through her nostrils.

A _heavenly_, _enticing_ scent flooded through her, it as if she took a bite from_ Elysium_ itself.

''I see, you started the corpse party without me, how rude, isn't it etiquette to invite everyone to the table before you start feasting,'' Rize vocalized almost seductively as she drooped her head to the was it normally was, the red hue took a hold of my vision as I glanced around.

_'Ah.. Red.. My favorite color.'_

As she glanced around, six figures returned her gaze from their masks and another one was too busy eating, each and everyone of them dressed in black cloaks reaching completely over their knees, they all wore the same mask, the well-known Guy Fawkes mask, despite all of them wore they same outfit, they weren't all exactly like each other.

Three of them were quite endowed in the chest area, suggesting that at least three of them were female, one of them had reddish long straight hair flowing from her mask and out of her hood, another figure was seated on the floor clearly overly indulging in the female carcass before him or her, and the rest of them were either sitting in a seat or leaning up against the wall.

The floor Rize stood on was caked in blood, pieces of raw, mangled flesh were strewn about nearly everywhere, consuming the once proper wagon. Human carcasses were in plenty of numbers, it took all of her willpower not to dig in and enjoy the grub laid out in front of her.

she couldn't do that because, all their eyes radiated a horrible_ killing intent_.

_'Well, took them long enough to make a move. I thought they would keep stalking me like this.'_

''If it isn't the venerable Rize the gluttonous. Just who we were _looking for_.'' One of the seven figures spat out menacingly, as blood trickled from its black cloaks.

''Oh really now? Don't pretend you haven't been _shadowing_ me since I left the 11th ward.''

The figures stood motionless, and even the one that was bust consuming the woman in front of him simply stopped, and dragged his mask over his face.

The figure with long red hair twirled her hair as she spoke amusedly to Rize, ''Ho Ho.. So know about us then?''

'''Not really, but does it matter? I came here to end your little espionage, I really hope you all enjoyed your meal, it's going to be your_ last_.''

The figures took all battle stance, and each and everyone of them released their own primary weapons, their very own kagune, one Ukaku-type, four Bikaku-types and two Rinkaku-types.

A large gruff sounding male chuckled, the same figure who was indulging earlier, ''Oh yeah, Binge Eater, you and what army?''

Rize smiled from ear tot ear as her own Rinkaku Kagune sprouted from her lower back, she pointed at the woman with long red hair and to woman next to her.

''_That_ one.''

As if on cue, the two women lunged at gruff sounding male, plunging their combined Rinkaku/Bikaku Kagune into his throat, he soon stopped breathing after suffocating in his own blood.

''Yayoi!'' One of the figures yelled, brandishing his Ukaku Kagune as he fired loads of green glowing crystals into Rize's direction.

Rize smile with great exuberance, as she readied herself for fierce combat.

_'Seems like this day will be fun after all. Now this.. And soon Izumi Shinichi.' _

* * *

**...  
**

* * *

''So as I was saying, ya..'' Daiko rambled rudely, digging his fingers into his ears.

The young Satomi sighed vociferously, she honestly didn't feel like listening to Daiko's delinquent exploits any longer.

''Could you _please_ stop, I know you like to talk about your exploits but I don't wanna he-!'' That was what she_ tried_ to say..

The train started to quiver uncontrollably, luggage flew around in their wagon, Daiko fell from his seat, the other passengers screamed in fright. Satomi instinctively dove for Shinichi's body and she was able to save his head from meeting the floor, _again_.

The maiden screams as the rumbling intensified into sheer convulsions, she could see people being hit in head with the luggage that was flying around, luckily for her, Shinichi and Daiko were low enough to the ground and could avoid most of the ongoing luggage havoc.

''What the bloody arse is going on, ya?!'' Daiko exclaimed as a suitcase nearly clipped his head, he plopped his finger out of his ear and his eyes widen.

''Murano! Get the bloody bollocks down!'' Daiko yells as he jumps right on top of the maiden, the sound of metal grazing and shattering was loudly audible through the entire wagon.

Wind caressed Satomi's face as she rose up and..!

_'Wind?' _She thought with confusion.

"Oh my god..'' The entire top half of the wagon cut off, allowing the winds to blow in the maiden's face, she heard the numerous screams from various passengers, but she was too frightened to turn around and witness the ongoing horror for herself.

''We gotta leg it, ya, to another wagon, we'll die if we stay here!'' Daiko screams, while holding his beanie on his head, causing it to not fly off.

Satomi didn't even bother to respond, as she slugged Shinichi's arms over her shoulders, and began shuffling towards the nearest wagon, making her way through the panicking convoy.

"Shite!'' Daiko yells as something grabbed his attention, he ran the other way towards the epicenter of the carnage.

''Where the heck are going?!'' I yell, but my efforts were in vain as he couldn't hear over the raging winds, and pushed further and further away from him.

''Just go, I'll be back, ya!''

...

_'Should I follow him?' _The young colleen questioned herself.

''Ma'am!'' A very young girl yelled, causing her to snap out of her dilemma.

Satomi turned her head towards the sound and spotted a young girl with coconut brown hair gesturing the maiden to come towards her.

She reluctantly made her way towards the young girl, and entered another wagon, she looks back at the door, wondering if she made the right decision, leaving Daiko behind.

The young girl aided Satomi with carrying Shinichi inside, and another young woman, who she recognized as Yu Zhu Yisha supported her, by swinging Shinichi's arm over her own shoulder, despite all the chaos in her mind she was glad to see that Yisha is safe during this chaos.

''Hinami, to your mom! This is everyone.'' Yisha ordered firmly to the younger girl.

The young girl nodded as she ran forwards away from the ongoing conflict, running towards a young woman who had just entered the wagon, the colleen assumed was her mother.

Most this wagon was empty, it seemed it was evacuated quite efficiently, Yisha and Satomi carried Shinichi all the way to the next wagon till she dropped the bombshell about other missing people.

''Yu Zhu-sensei! Daiko-san and Kamishiro-san are still back there.'' Satomi said with worry coiling in her voice.

She laid down Shinichi's arm, and the titian haired woman _stared_ the maiden deeply in the eyes.

''You, to safety. I'll go.'' She urged, in her characteristic foreign accent, pointing in a direction that she described as 'safety'.

Yisha proceeded to run towards the center of the ongoing carnage, leaving Satomi all by her _lonesome_.

She felt worried leaving her all by herself, but Shinichi was all she cared for right now, '_His life takes priority for me_.'

Satomi was about to open the door to the next wagon but _then_..

The wagon started to tilt upwards, towards the sky.

She grabbed a metal pole and tried to hold herself steady the best she could, but gravity pulled too strong at Shinichi, forcing him from her hold, she could only watch in terror, as she saw him slide away from her.

Satomi unhands the pole she used to support herself with, decisive about chasing and then saving Shinichi.

But then dire fate struck her, _hard_.

She believes the train collided with something, it was the only explanation for that made sense for her as all the downwards momentum she had was suddenly reversed into a wholly different kinetic force.

Satomi was flung like rag-doll, and she could barely witness the seat she was flying into before her vision faded to black, ending my _struggle_.

* * *

Pain was the first sensation Satomi perceived as she gradually fluttered her eyes and started to wake.

_'It hurts, my legs..' _She whimpered in her thoughts.

Satomi couldn't feel anything from her legs other than pain, her senses felt dull, and she knew she wouldn't stay awake for long.

Her eyes began to flutter once again, as I hear footsteps closing in, echoing ominously.

_'Help me..' _

''...'' She tried to utter these thoughts that swarmed her head the best she could, but nothing escaped her frozen lips, she felt paralyzed, and she was forced to give in to whatever was approaching her.

''_My.. My.._ Look who have here..'' A voice whispered.

The maiden's eyes felt,_ 'Heavy_.. _So very heavy.. I..'_

_'I..'_

''It's good that_ I_ found you, I was getting _hungry_ anyway! Now I have some mighty fine bait for the boy.'' The voice crackled deliriously.

The colleen couldn't even _feel_ fear anymore, as she was already drifting to another place.

_'Shin.. Ichi..'_ Was Satomi's last thought before it all faded to blackness.


	3. Terminus

_**Author Notes**_

**[Wow! 2000 Views milestone achieved!]**

You all might be wondering, ''Gin! What the heck man! A while isn't a entire month and more!''

Well, excuse me for the massive delay in chapters, but as of recently I decided to re-work my already posted chapters on the suggestion of some of the readers as well as my lovely beta-reader.

Luckily for you guys though, no major plot points have been re-written, so there is no need to actually re-read the revised chapters (but I would love it if you do), though I did made a slight adjustment to the current sub-plot, I want to just say _'hey guys just read the revised chapter 2'_ but that would be too cruel, no?

Basically, I altered the events so that the train carnage wasn't perpetrated by Aogiri, but by an entirely new, small ghoul organization. That's all, there was to it.

I'm glad this is off of my shoulder as it really bugged me that it took as long as it did, I apologize for the sloppiness, hopefully you can not lynch me for it.

With that said, _I wish all you lots and lots of reading pleasure._

Ta-ta!

* * *

_[Chapter - 3 Terminus]_

* * *

''_Uh_..'' Shinichi stammered embarrassedly, as an awkward silence erected itself.

...

...

...

Halting the silence nearly caused the injured youth to feel even pain, but he did so anyway; _very carefully_.

''_Fueguchi_-san-'' He started friendly before pausing mid-sentence.

''Please just say Ryouko,'' The young woman declared in mild manner

''..Uh.. R-Ryouko-san, you don't _need_ to do this. I can endure this minor wound easily,'' The youth insisted once again, whilst trying to escape the alarming gaze of the young mother.

She glares sharply in the boy's direction causing the youth to feel even more uncomfortable than he already was.

''_Sit._''

''But reall-'' That as far as the copper haired youth could go before a harsh glare stopped Shinichi from spraying the lingering contents of his sentence.

He whirled his cranium back and forth in abhorrence, trying to avoid the piercing gaze she was insistently giving him for the past fifteen minutes, since she woke from her induced slumber.

_'Gotta give her points for her tenacity though.' _Shinichi admitted bluntly, shrugging his shoulders, he gave it one more shot.

''Really, I'm-!''

''_Now!_''

Shinichi groans in frustration and defeat, as he complied to the woman's orders against his own wishes, like a child who didn't receive what they wanted for their birthday, he stepped towards the mother strenuously and tried his hardest to suppress the urge to just jump in the train wreck and simply buzz off as fast as his inhuman body allowed him to.

The injured youth plopped his sore bottom on the wooden train tracks, and extended his arm meticulously.

Pain surged through it gradually, the higher it ascended the more pain it inflicted on the bronze haired boy, he bit the inside of his cheek to refrain from showing his pain exteriorly.

''Shin-nii, doesn't your arm_ hurt_?'' The innocent child requested curiously, looking a tad mortified as she glanced at Shinichi's wounds.

''Nope, not _at all_, Hinami,'' He lied without a second thought, flashing the biggest smile he's ever faked to date.

The young child conferred as Hinami, seemed to eat up the adolescent's lie without a word as the worry on her face lessened drastically, Shinichi felt bad for lying to her in her face, really he did..

_'It's just.. I hate to see kids sad.'_

Shinichi focused his eyes on the woman and the child that as they drooped down to his level of height to examine the protruding glass shard in the youth's upper arm, to be frank it felt jarring, to the point where Shinichi could almost feel their eyes casted on every single inch of the shard, it's like their stares adds an additional weight to the glass shard, making it sting even more.

Shinichi releases his characteristic sigh..

_'Why does she decide to keep pestering me about the wound.. It's nice of her to care.. It's just.. I can't just slack off, when Satomi might be in danger.'_

Shincihi took another glance at the woman and her daughter who were currently busy stirring the glass shard in his arm with their eyes, the adolescent winces as Hinami flicked at the aforementioned shard, causing him to yelp _almost_ inaudibly in pain.

''I knew it, Shin-nii is just a big liar.''

''What? I didn't lie. It really doesn't hurt-!''

''-Ow! Stop flicking it, you brat!''

Hinami faced Shinichi with the most adorable smile she has showcased up to this point, _'This little girl is not to be trifled with,'_ Shinichi noted.

Ryouko chuckles at our interaction before lecturing her daughter on how she just couldn't poke fun at a _crippled_ person, making the aforementioned cripple feel quite insulted.

''I'm _not_ a cripple, Ryouko-san,'' Shinichi's tone was secreting large amounts of fretfulness.

He couldn't help but issue another sigh at their lack of woe for the situation they were in.

_'Why are they so darn content on following me, both the mother and daughter are way too adamant.' _The youth deduced with dissatisfaction.

...

_'I can't believe Hinami fourteen, she acts and looks quite a bit younger. Wait.. What's with the nickname, Shin-nii?'_

''Why Shin-nii?'' The copper youth suddenly states, causing the younger girl to stop her examination of Shinichi's lesion.

''Because 'Shinichi' sounds weird,'' Hinami blurted casually, not noticing the irritation the older youth is trying to hold back.

''It's_ not_ weird.''

Hinami was about to retort till her mother motioned for her attention, and in a moment's notice the conversation fell flat on it's bottom.

''Hinami, can you get _it_ for me, _it's_ in my handbag,'' Fueguchi asked nicely.

Hinami fabricated an confused expression at the mentioning of _it_, ''Yes! The.. Uh.. _Haidro.. B-Binegar Solution_, right mom?''

''It's _Hydro-Vingar_, sweetie. Yes.. I want that,'' The young mother confirmed in a welcome manner.

''Don't worry, mom! Hinami is on the job!'' Hinami bellowed bravely with determined eyes, resting her hands on the sides of her mocca brown blouse; giving off an heroic aura.

Hinami bounces to her feet to get to her mothers handbag, the sudden motion she made, caused Shinichi to flinch, making him tense his arm in the process.

He chews the soft insides of his cheeks a bit harder to suppress the wail of pain that was squirming to free itself from the boy's lips, within seconds the young girl returned with a glee that almost spelled complete victory.

''Here you go, mom!'' Hinami stated with a light and warm expression as she handed her mother a bottle of Hydro-Vinegar.

Ryouko beamed a warm smile at her daughter, and she in turn began to grin from ear to ear, while humming contently for doing her work as well she did.

Shinichi couldn't help but smile in response to the scene laid out before him, it reminded him of much better times, times together with his mom and dad..

'_Mom.._'

''Izumi-kun.'' Ryouko said gently, thereby earning the youth's attention, he noticed the slight indication of worry showing on her face.

Shinichi looks away, not wanting to confront those eyes, knowing all too well why she's expressing worry.

She starts to unravel her dainty white scarf, and drenched it in the fluid that was contained in the bottle moments ago. She gave him a serious look, and Shincihi felt confused, as he didn't know where she was heading in this conversation.

''What were you thinking about?'' She mouthed with worry as she gazes into Shinichi's eyes.

''Just.. _Better times_..'' he hesitated; fleeting my eyes away from Ryouko's gaze, and a lump formed in his throat making him stop speaking anymore the he has.

She gave him understanding look, and smiled after a single moment passed, ''Is it your mom? Were you thinking about her?''

Shinichi simply stares at her in bewilderment, Hinami glances between me and her mother multiple times, with an ascended eyebrow.

_'How did she know..?' _Shinichi reflected with sheer confusion._  
_

''I know, Izumi-kun. I've been there myself, I can recognize that kind of saddened look anywhere at anytime.'' She elucidated with a muffled tone; as if she could read his thoughts like an open book.

Shinichi's scowl worsens, all while he was persisting in his laconism, he didn't want to talk about this subject, _Not now_.

...

''Uh.. Shin-nii?'' Hinami looked at the injured youth with unease and worry apparent on her delicate form, however, he didn't return her gaze.

...

''Bear with me.'' Ryouko mumbled briefly.

_'Wait what?'_ Shinichi hoisted his head to look at her with a very dumb look on his own form.

''Bear with whaaaaAAAAAAH-!'' He cried loudly in response to the sudden shock of pain.

With a speed that the bronze haired youth could barely perceive with his superhuman eyes, she uprooted the large glass shard from his upper arm. The sudden release of blockage caused blood to be excreted from his wound and splash into a variety of directions.

Shinichi forces his eyes closed to block out the pain he's currently experiencing, the longer he was holding back this agonizing sensation, the further his thoughts began to stray.

_'Is it me or is every thing just really odd, everything feels so unreal to me, like I've hastily traveled to an weird and bizarre universe, so much has happened and I still know so little, I can't even wrap my head around the fact I'm alive and well, much less about the fact that Satomi is missing and Ghouls have attacked this train, whatever they might be.'_

Frustration started pilling on him, his stomach churned in disgust because he just couldn't answer these questions, he knew that he couldn't figure it out right now, since so much is still such a blur.

Yet, he needs to figure it out, _really soon_..

_'Why is everything so surreal, and why does nothing add up?' _

_'Ghouls?! Satomi?! All those deceased?! This absurd level of destruction?! _

_'Ryouko-san's and Hinami's spectacular regenerative properties?! _

_'I don't get it, am I missing something!?'_

_._

_'Just what happened when I was out?! What the flying crap baskets happened?!' _

_.._

_'How could shit hit the fan this **hard**, so** dire**, so **fast**?!'_

_..._

'_**WHAT AM I MISSING HERE!?**_'

Shinichi felt the cold shivers ascending up his spine and a really bad feeling started to kick in, as if someone is breathing down their hot breath on his neck, a really uncomfortable feeling..

_'Right.. I wasn't alone.'_

Shinichi whirled to his side to see the pair women looking immensely perplexed, shock had completely overwritten their current actions, they stared blankly in the distance, with eyes that resemble a dead fish, it unnerved the bronze haired youth dreadfully.

Blood was splattered all over their faces, their mouths were wide open, almost unhinged, it was a rather _ghoulish_ sensation for the young adolescent .

Shinichi balks away from them in complete appall, tearing his arm free from Ryouko's grip with his trademark inhuman strength.

The pain seared through him was intense in nature, Shinichi bellows a boisterous, blood wrenching scream as heaps of blood surged from his arm and flowed into the the wooden tracks.

It was an incredibly agonizing sensation, being the equivalent of someone jabbing a pair of rusty scissors into your unprotected arm and maliciously twisting and turning the pair of scissors while it was still embedded within you, making the person feel the meaning of_ true_ agony.

The scream of Shinichi seemed to animate the pair of women as the two of them lunged for Shinichi's arm, Hinami succeeded to grab his arm and hold it still, even though Shinichi trashed quite a bit with his alien body, Ryouko brandishes her vinegar soaked scarf, unsettling the squirming young man.

''Wait! No! Ryouko! NO!-''

Shinichi's protests were in vain as Ryouko swiftly presses the vinegar drenched scarf in Shinichi's wound, eliciting yet another pained shrill sound, they remain steady and firm as Shinichi grits his teeth, nearly cracking them in the process.

As the pain gradually subsided Ryouko wrapped the around the girth of his arm, topping it in a neat and pristine knot.

Shinichi exhales deeply; knowing that the procedure was finally over, unbeknown to him a wicked smile formed next to him.

Hinami smirks deviously as she took the half empty bottle of hydro-vinegar in her meager hands...

''Now, Shin-nii. Are you sure you weren't _lying_ to me?'' Not bothering to wait for a response, Hinami released the carnage...

...and _emptied_ it on Shinichi's skinless, injured hand.

...

Needless to say the youth's hand wouldn't stop _stinging_ for a while..

At least wasn't bleeding profusely, that simple thought was what kept him going during Hinami's mock vinegar torture.

* * *

**...**

* * *

Shinichi folds his body deeply in a bow of respect, ''Truly, I cannot repay you for what you did for me.. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.''

Ryouko releases a rather forced laugh in response to my overly formal way of thanking her, and Hinami could only beam in joy, nearly patting her own back despite the small magnitude of her actions; for her they seemed to be of great importance.

''It was nothing, after all I wanted to help, even if you disagreed and shot down my offer, which you _did_.'' The coconut haired woman responded in both a mellow yet, peeved manner, somehow her glance made Shinichi feel the awkwardness.

As Shinichi rose he rubbed his head awkwardly, wondering how Ryouko was able to excrete such a mix of conflicting emotions.

He couldn't help but to recall the former scene in his mind - Ryouko was way too obstinate on helping him then, regardless of the fact that he turned her down.

He found himself laughing, after all it was as if the older woman had melted within his arms during that time he carried her, displaying a rather demure side of herself.

...

_Yank!_

Shinichi found himself looking into the copper eyes of the petite young girl who had yanked at leg of his dirtied cargo pants, he rose his eyebrow.

''Is there something the matter, Hinami?'' He asked with a sliver of worry slipping into his tone.

With her hand still clutching the fabric of pants she looked into the youth's eyes before slithering her gaze away from him, ''Stay safe... Shin-nii. Don't do anything.. _reckless_.''

Shinichi felt his own inner mood growing worse at the sight of the saddened little girl, he felt both privileged as well as disheartened by Hinami's display.

The youth slumped onto a single knee, smiling warmly at the young girl adjacent to him.

''I promise, that I will make it out of here once I find the person I'm searching for.'' The younger girl responded with a faint, wry smile; somewhat eased by the words of the boy.

Shinichi rose to his feet again, he looked at Hinami once more before stating his next sentence with somberness, ''Take care of your mom, alright. The two of you only have each other.''

Hinami nodded enthusiastically letting out an enthusiastic 'mhmm', emphasizing her already childlike behavior.

Shinichi smiled softly interiorly, before flashing a huge grin.

''Well now, run along now you two.''

''_Sayonara_, Izumi Shinichi-kun.'' The woman uttered softly, before taking her daughter's tiny hand.

Hinami smiled lovingly at her mother, and gave the youth a short wave with her delicate hand, finally they began walking away from the wreck.

Shinichi twirled on his feet, his back now facing the departing duo as walked towards the entrance of the train..

..But he found himself halting, just as he was about to step inside.

_'Oh! I nearly forgot to ask how they manage-.'_

Suddenly gyrating his body the youth stood in the same direction the lovingly mother and daughter departed, of course.. He should have known.

They were_ no longer there.. _Their figures_ were already long gone, _leaving an empty train track that extended far into the horizon.

Shincihi shrugs his worn-out shoulders, he examined Ryouko's vinegar drenched scarf on his left arm.

_'Such an obstinate lot, jeez it's as if Mitsuyo-san was right there beside them.' _Shinichi found himself laughing at this old memories, before his expression finally turns soft.

''_Sayonara_.'' He muttered as he looked up to the blue sky, that was stained silvery with smoke.

Shinichi stepped into the wagon and re-continued his journey once again, hopefully for the last time.

* * *

**...**

* * *

The already humongous body count Shinichi had witnessed had just sky rocketed, as he approached the final wagon on the train, his final destination.

However the trek had been a long one for the tired youth, checking the bodies of the dead for Satomi's face had instilled a unmanageable paranoia within the back of his mind.

_Was she alright?_

_Is she still alive?_

_Has she suffered the same fate as the other people, limbless, eaten or suffering from their injuries?_

Those were one of the many questions that barraged him as each second passed, as he checked each and every dead woman for features as fair as Satomi's and with every step he took through this massive bloodbath his shoes were more and more stained crimson as it continued drawing in the blood of many into its fabric.

It unnerved Shinichi greatly, the squishy sounds his shoes made with every step, the moisture running into his socks and onto his feet, he knew that if he hadn't merged with the parasite he dubbed as Migi he would be bent in two, either hurling the contents of his stomach or simply being completely broken and crying like a toddler.

His calm persona didn't waver as he spots a figure dressed in black, the figure was supporting himself on a broken iron pole that the figure must have salvaged from this wreck, his body seems to be pivoting restlessly around a large hole on the wagon's floor before finally collapsing to his knees.

Shinichi quickly sought cover as the figure looked over into his general direction, luckily he found that thanks to the many ruined seats within the wagon.

He calmed his breathing closed his eyes, and tried to regain composure of his body again, that cold feeling washed over him again that meant only one thing, _murderous intent._

Thanks to his new found serenity, he was able to focus his mind more than enough to activate his enhanced hearing, fixating the brunt of his superhuman competence on the figure.

_'Here goes nothing, I hope that this still works as good as it used to.'_

**''FUCK!''**

''Argh..'' Shinichi wined, as the sound reverberates way too loud in his mind, clutching onto his head he tried his hardest to fine tune his ability.

''...Damned.. Bitch-'' A foreign voice swears, the audio was still off by a bit, it was hard for him to now hear this person at all.

''I.. Can't-.. That.. Back-stabbed us..'' The voice muttered in anger.

_'Backstabbed? So.. all of this was planned course of action then?' _Shinichi concluded with rage fueling his body.

''God flying dammit.. Lost-.. Yayoi..- and.. To those bitches and... ..Shiro..'' The voice elicited a choppy groan of pain.

_'Shiro? Yayoi? Those Bitches?'_

''I.. Can't.. Believe that thing punched a hole in my stomach.. Wasn't.. Human?'' The voice conceded meekly.

_'Something punched a hole in his stomach, and this guy is still alive?! Is that that thing a ghoul!?'_

The sound of cloth ripping and flesh tearing was loudly audible through Shinichi's enhanced hearing, he quickly peeked over the seats he was hiding behind, the figure was hunched over as a green wing-like muscle or tentacle protruded from his his shoulder, it glowed a dim grass green color, and the figure regained his footing.

_'Crap baskets, is he getting away?'_

Shinichi contemplated briefly whether to chase the figure or not, on one hand if he could catch the figure he could learn more what their intentions were and perhaps the location of Satomi, on the other hand though he would expose himself if he didn't manage to catch the figure and could risk a battle with this enigmatic person without knowing anything about his ability, putting him at a disadvantage, if he's able to survive a wound as grievous as he has right now, how could he _ever_ wound him.

Shinichi took a deep breath..

''Hey! Don't even think about moving!'' The copper haired youth shouted as he rose from his hiding spot, bolting as fast he could to the figure clad in black.

As Shinichi dashed past all the debris, his eyes focus on the figure, who remains unmoving, his wing eerily illuminating the wagon.

_'Oh Fudge!'_

Shinichi hastily managed to duck underneath the oncoming volley of green spikes, or thorns, but not without one of them clipping his right cheek.

Quickly scrambling to his feet he expected to find the figure towering over his fallen body ready to deliver a fatal strike, yet to his surprise the figure was gone.

_'The hole!'_

Shinichi automatically leaped towards to the giant gaping hole, peering immediately over it.

The hole led to the train tracks beneath the train itself, the figure however was nowhere to be seen.

''Damn it!'' Shinichi swore; slamming his fist against the cold, jagged floor, the stinging sensation on his face hurting much more than the pain in his hand.

_'That's without doubt gonna bite me back in the bottom later.'_

He re-collected his usual calm demeanor and noticed the bodies that were sprawl across this part of the wagon, two other bodies wore similar attires like the one with the green wing, one of them was seriously blemished but unconscious the other was dead, pulling at the hood of the live one revealed a mask topped with sienna red hair that reached just behind the figure's shoulder blades, the mask the figure wore resembles those of an group he read about on the web, Anonymous or something, Shinichi shoved those thoughts away for another time, he removed the mask from the face of the figure.

The face behind the mask was revealed to be a fair faced young woman, with bangs of Sienna red locks cascading her form, she didn't ring any bells for the youth, which was to be expected since he had never met her before in life.

He took a closer look at the back of the mask, there was something hastily scribbled inside - in English no less, Shinichi squinted as he read the words out loud.

''V.. Vera.. Veracity?'' Shinichi made a long face clearly not being able to grasp the meaning of the word.

_'English isn't really my strongest language..'_

He tucked the mask in his pants, took away her black coat for his own purposes and abandoned the woman to her fate, Standing before the door to the last wagon, he couldn't help but sigh characteristically as he slid the hood over his head..

''Guess, this the _terminus_ of this journey.'' He said mockingly as he opened the last wagon door, and was embraced by the thick plume smoke.

* * *

**...**

* * *

Stepping inside in what he defined as 'Terminus', the young youth found himself in yet another bloodbath, this one however was tad older, he could smell that, the bodies within this cabin were in the very early stages of decomposition, it's not visible exteriorly, but lactic acid carries a strong smell, and it's quickly building within these bodies due to the sheer heat of flames that was consuming this wagon, but it was tough for to make this out as the smoke was decreasing the reliability of his skills greatly..

The flames were starting lick his body at an alarming rate, and the smoke nearly dizzies him.

Glad that he took the black cloak with him, Shinichi quickly covered his nose and mouth with the fabric, and began scanning his surroundings with haste for anything that could aid him, survivors, something suspicious and of course Satomi, but all he saw was more bodies, some normal people others were dressed in the same black coat he himself was wearing right now.

Till he did saw something of interest out in the distance, he spotted a small mountain of..~!

_'Human Bodies!.'_

He prepped his body within a single second, before bursting forwards like a launched arrow, the large window got closer and closer, Shinichi crossed his arms in a 'X' pattern to shield his face as he lunged at the window.

It easily gave away, there was nearly no resistance at all.

He deftly rolled onto his feet, and hurriedly discarded the flaming black cloak he wore, standing on his own two feet as he gazed at the scene before him.

A woman with auburn long hair tied in a simple high ponytail, wearing a blouse dirtied with blood, a ripped long skirt, the young woman lies motionlessly in front of the make-shift mountain, covered in more cuts than he could count.

While his worries were originally diverted to the woman lying on the ground, sounds that emitted from the pile of humans caused Shinichi to flinch, as a dark feeling washed over him as watched the masses of police men, passengers, train staff, emergency ambulance personnel all of them shared one simple thing.

_'Oh.. God.. These.. people are all still alive.. There missing arms, legs, faces, lips, and eyes'_

The voices became more and more crisp and clear, the contents of their distressed cries unnerved the copper haired youth even further, the pile of living corpses moved, the youth had to give his all to not regurgitate his lunch from earlier.

''_Help.. Me.._''

Shinichi breathing turns ragged with fear, his feet unconsciously slid back bit by bit.

''_Why.._''

His eyes widen in horror, tears coiling the sides of his eye sockets, pupils dilate to receive more light, he noticed a hand in the middle of the pile trying to shove away the other bodies.

''_Save me.._''

He began clutching his heart with his Migi-less hand, his breathing now nothing more than loud, painful wheezes.

''_Kill me already.._''

His mouth dropped but there came no sound, he wanted to scream, cry, pull out his hair, scratch out his eye balls, he'd do anything to erase the sounds and images from his mind right now, the now exposed arm has drenched in blood, large chunks of flesh missing.

''_We're all already dead and.. You will follow.._''

Sweat drenched from the adolescents face, his hands began shaking frantically.

''_It.._ _t__.. Hur.. Hurts''_

Shinichi's legs finally gave away, as tears fills his eyes completely, blurring his view almost entirely.

''_It.. Hurts.. S.. So.. Cold.._''

''My.. My.. You've finally arrived haven't you, sure took you _long_ enough,'' A unfamiliar voice echoed from the pile of distorted human beings.

The young man's vision slowly pans upwards, revealing the being stationed on the apex of the tower of disturbance, a woman with purple hair and red-rimmed glasses, grinning malevolently, just in front her feet was another young she was bent in half, various pieces of flesh on her body seemed to be stripped away from her, so she was bleeding at an alarming.

Shinichi's eyes widen, exponentially.

''SATOMI!''

Shinichi scrambled to his feet again, prepping his body, keeping it low to the ground, but couldn't even twitch a single muscle.

''Don't move, Shinichi! She'll kill you! Just run!'' Satomi pleaded, while writhing atop of the tower of disfigured humans.

As if on cue, the woman glares at Shinichi with eyes radiating horrid darkness, the young man flinches; hesitating.

_'Those eyes, they're same as in that dream.. Radiating the same gut wrenching energy.'_

''Now, Shinichi Izumi, listen _very_ carefully to what about to say next, because I'll kill your lover if you don't heed me.'' The violet femme fatale suggested in a dark demeanor, while folding her arms two distinct reddish tentacles formed from her back, one pointed at his lover, the other stretched out in his direction.

_'Wait! How does she know about me and Satomi?!'_

Shinichi stood unmoving, he was uncertain what she would do if he even moved the tiniest bit, as the lavender haired woman literally had the power end his life then and there, through Satomi.

He just can't loose her now, he won't! Just like with Kabuto Uragami he will pull through together with Migi, or that's what went through his mind at least.

''Now I want you to walk directly to me, but stop midway just between that redhead fallen gal over there and my pile of leftovers. So Izumi Shinichi, _Start walking_.'' The woman enlightened in a dark tone, a glee formed on her face that almost reached from one ear to another.

''Oh and you get your... Toots back _if_ you are _obedient_.'' She added stressing the 'if' with a smile that could be summed up as both disturbing as well enthralling.

''SHINICHI DON'T COME NEAR US, RUN!'' Satomi yells in absolute terror as she convulses, trying to painstakingly crawl towards her lover.

''Hey toots, what did I say about.. SPEAKING OUT OF TURN!'' The woman with darkened eyes punted the maroon haired, forcing the maiden off the pile of leftovers and onto the train track, she yells in abundant agony.

_'This is my chance!'_

''SATOMI!'' he ran, forgoing all the dangers that warned him in mind, with inhuman speed he strides to meet his loved one, to hold her in his arms to protect her from harm, to see her smile again like she used to, like she always did even if things seemed bleak.

All that he needed was couple meters,_ just_ a couple more steps..

_'Why is she looking so... Bewildered?'_

With another step Shinichi propelled his body forwards, outstretched his hand in frenzy, the white scarf of Ryouko entering his field of vision, the pain vividly escalating in his body, between his fingers his could see Satomi's figure blemish.

Shinichi realized, he wasn't running anymore, the world stood still, _'why.. Why can't I move..?'_

He progressively drooped to his cranium, and he met the origin of his lack of movement, despite the pain building rapidly in his body telling him not to look.

_'I see.. I didn't make it in time..'_

A large dark reddish tentacle was intruding his intruding his abdomen and sticking outside his shirt, time began to fade for the young youth, as droplets of pure crimson slowly descend on the tracks under his knees.

_'I fell for it didn't I...?'_

He watches at the mass of muscle slowly retreated into his insides, coddling it nicely, before leaving him with a cold, fleeting feeling as his head hits the tracks of the train.

Shinichi's eyes flutter and his blurs only worse, as he watched a pair blood red heels pass him.

''What... Waste.. Wanted... Eat-.. One..- Piece..'' The ghoulish voice of the woman turned into whispers and it was tough to make out anything at all for him.

Satomi was lying broken, her eyes were deadened, tears flown endlessly from her cheeks, she was still trying to muster a smile on her cheeks, as the set of heels approached her.

''Gues.. I can.. Eat.. Before-.. Comes. Izum.. Needs to Fer- A little longer..'' The violet haired voice was choppy, it was too hard to distinguish anything anymore.

''I... Lo-'' Was all he could make out, before he witnessed a dark blur lunge for Satomi's face.

_'Migi.. Save her, please..' _His hand was outstretched digging into a wooden plank, trying to slide the dying flesh of Shinichi Izumi forwards, but all in vain, as Migi never came to aid Shinichi.

_'Why..? Why is this happening? We were about to live our lives peacefully.. What did we do wrong? Why do I deserve this? It isn't FAIR!'_

The darkness was starting to overtake him, he resisted, fighting it with every ounce of his willpower, but an individual cannot beat fate, nature and death.

The tormented cries of the girl he loved dearly, haunted him till he could no longer witness the spectacle before him.

_ 'I guess.. I've reached my end, I'm sorry Satomi.'_


	4. Post-Mortem

_**Author Notes**_

Eh.. Not so much to say at the moment, so I'll keep it brief.

This chapter was more meant to be an intermission between the previous chapter and the next one, which marks the end of this arc. Hence the reason why it is somewhat shorter than my previous chapters.

I would like to warn you about the suggested gore in this chapter, but then I realized.. This is the Tokyo Ghoul and Parasyte fandom, they've seen worse.. _Right_?

_I wish all of you lots and lots of eatin-.. I mean.. reading pleasure. Sayonara!  
_

* * *

_[Chapter 4 - Post-Mortem]_

* * *

_**Crunch..**_

_**Chomp..**_

_**Munch..**_

''Ahh.. That was..'' A hand slipped over her lips, wiping the residue of blood and other substances off of her face, ''Delicious, usually women taste more.. _delicate._ Yet, this one was more aligned to my personal preference and more _filling_ than I expected.''

The ghoulish femme, licked her palms, removing the red substances that drenched her entire body . The red hue that intruded her point of view began to fade as each second passed, the extensions of her body subsiding along with it. Her usual more refined persona slowly started to take hold of her again.

The woman rose to her feet basking in the sunlight shining directly on her skin, her lavender tinted hair glimmered thanks to the exposure to the sun's radiance, she took a quick glance at the moaning pile of bodies in front of her, half the pile stopped moving a long while ago and the other still howled in agony, a cacophony of joy.

''I definitely enjoyed that..'' She said with elation, as she slid her finger into the exposed wound of a deceased man, and reeled her it back onto her tongue.

A smirk crawled on her lips as her eyes travel down towards her more _recent_ meal, she returned her finger to her side with a loud 'pop'. The face of the cadaver was young so very young, it's eyes were frozen in a state of anguish, staring intensely back into the beads of the ghoul. Just like the ghoulish predator, the hair of the carcass was basked in light, it was a shade of maroon. The cadaver of the maiden looks just as lively and untouched as it was moments before when she drew her last breath. Blood littered the train tracks, nearly pooling the area surrounding it.

Rize _almost_ felt sad, how vainly she struggled till her final breath, calling out to her already dying lover, but then she realized that it didn't matter, it wasn't her concern anymore and neither did she care to think about it any longer than she already have. She hastily tore the denim fabric stuck beneath her nails.

'_I need to thank those three at a later date, thanks to them I got rid of those pests in no time.'_

Her eyes trailed towards towards the fallen boy several feet away, and she soon stood over him. Watching eagerly over his leaking body, she took a moment to decided what to do with him now..

_'Do I eat him.. Or.. Save him now, so I can save him for later and build up for it.'_

Rize rubbed a hand over stomach section of her bloodied dress, it felt puffy and stuffed. She sighed heavily and pouts a moment later.

_'Later it is then..'_

When she dove down to Shinichi in order to suppress the bleeding, her eyes travel to an white object just in front of her, a mask.

Rize's lips curled into a smile..

* * *

**!Scene Break!**

* * *

The youth's eyes fluttered, the air felt heavy and dry to him, as if he's stuck in some sort of heated sauna. His vision was completely engulfed in blackness and his body felt weird, strangely light for some particular reason. Was this the place he was before, or was he moved to somewhere else?

_'Where am I?'_

For some time the youth felt disoriented, lost, clueless and confused as to why he is stuck in the silent darkness, was this reality at all?

_'Is this another dream?'_

Slowly but surely, the events started to gradually flow back in his thoughts, ever so slightly.

_'I was searching for Satomi.'_

Then before his eyes light appeared growing brighter with each passing second, before dissipating. Out of the bundle of dissipating light a person was formed, a girl with chin-length maroon hair, the girl wore a high school uniform, an uniform the youth immediately recognized as his, or at least similar to the one he wore when he was in high school.

"Sa.. Tomi!" The youth's voice quivered, "Is that really you?"

The adolescent lunged at the maiden to pull her into a embrace. He found himself stopping as he did so, the boy could only stare in awe towards his outstretched extremities.

_'Why am I bleeding?'_

The blood poured from the many small cuts that had found its way on the youth's arm, it poured as if the blood was pressurized. The fleeting blood splattered on both the youth and the maiden, her light and warm features slowly turned darker and more unsettling, her uniform was torn and shredded, her expression was one of primal agony and wounds formed on her body oozing of her very own crimson life fluids.

Shinichi simply stared unnerved as his precious lover wilted her beauty like a rotting flower.

_'Satomi?'_

The disturbance worsens as parts of her uniform was torn from her body, exposing the supple skin on her arms and legs.

_'Stop..'_

Shinichi's eyes widen as more and more memories found their way back into his mind.

"Shinichi help me.. Save me."

The faux Satomi outstretched her arm, her fingers barely brushed the youth's exposed chest before her middle finger disappeared, leaving just a torrent of blood in its wake. Shinichi bounced back on his feet, forced to witness the fate Satomi underwent.

"I thought our future had just begun.'' He mumbled.

The light in her eyes began turn dim, till the life in eyes vanished entirely. Shinichi is forced to watch as a specter of darkness formed behind his lover, the specter took the form of his lover's tormentor, it took on _her_ face, the face that purple haired woman who called forth all of this conflict.

"Shinichi.." His lover beckoned with no discernible emotion, ''Save.. Me..''

''STOP! JUST STOP!''

The shadowy purple haired specter defiled the body of his lover with her hands, sliding over the maiden's skin causing wounds to spontaneously form. Satomi screams and yells in agony, Shinichi could nothing but simply close his eyes and cover his ears. His breathing turned ragged, his head began feel woozy and disoriented, his body trembling in rage. He wanted to stop the torturing of his mind to simply shred away the specter that haunts him, but if he did. What would happen? Would he be able to dream peacefully again? Or would he wake and return to his fresh nightmare, a world where she no longer exists?

_'What is the point anymore..? Is there any point to it?'_

The youth slumped to his knees, hugging himself tightly digging his nails through his sides, sinking his chin in his chest and averting his gaze from the horror, he was uncaring to the spectacle before him, uncaring to carnage in his heart, simply swallowed in the agony, wishing for it to just stop. The amount blood that poured from his arms started to increased, turning almost fountain like in its abundance.

The screams of Satomi ring loudly in his ears, ''Stop... Just.. Stop.. Stop.''

''No more.. No more..''

The sudden lack of screams filled the air surrounding him, causing Shinichi to face the carnage that happened just in front of him, _'Huh?'_

A warm light basks his body, causing the specter of darkness to slowly fade alongside with a now smiling Satomi, she reached out him one more time before her hand completely vanished in the light. Shinichi stared into the light that caressed his form tenderly, relishing in its warmth.

_'This light its familiar..'_

He racked his brain for answers, sensations or memories he could bind to this sudden welling of nostalgia, he found none of them. Yet, an image formed in his mind. A strong image of a friend, a person who stood by the darkest of his memories, the most hopeless of situations.

_'Who..? Who was that again?'_

The name of that person was on the tip of his tongue, nearly bulging off of his mouth, the youth's brows furrow, the veins on his forehead nearly bursting from the current exertion.

_'I remember.. His.. Name, it was-!'_

_'It was...-!'_

* * *

**!Scene Break!  
**

* * *

''-MIGI!''

Shinichi found himself staring at a spotless white ceiling. His eyes fluttered as he took in his surroundings, the room was filled with many medical apparatuses, a single night stand adorned the room together with three lime green chairs, one of them was occupied by a person, but he couldn't discern the person's facial features, his vision was far too fuzzy for that.

While promptly shaking his head to get a better vision, he found his body resting in a bed, a bed that was nowhere near the comfort of his own. Feeling tired, he allowed his fatigued body to fall back into his bed.

_'A hospital, huh?'_

His left hand gradually shifted into a fist, gripping tightly onto his bed sheet, the sheet slowly turned redder and redder within the young man's vice-like grip.

_'Satomi.. Is she.. Still here?'_

He quickly pushes those thoughts away by placing the bloodied hand on his face, obscuring the sunlight that passed through the room thanks to the large window next to his bed.

''Shinichi, are you awake?'' The new voice snapped the youth out of his stupor, the sound of footsteps echoed and he could start to make out the features of the person who stayed inside his hospital room. It was..

''Dad!''

The youth's father wrapped his arms around his son tightly, Shinichi was really overjoyed to see his father again. It felt like ages since he last saw the man, despite seeing him recently. His father broke the hug after several minutes and after he lets go Shinichi felt his bones ache with pain.

''Jeez.. Were you trying to kill me? I'm already busted and broken, no need to turn me into powder as well.'' Shinichi admitted with a soft yelp.

He then took a moment to examine his father's features, he's grown old, in comparison to earlier days. His hair is now a mixture of grays and browns, which are impossible to separate from another. His eyes were a tad droopy but, he did his best to look happy at the moment. He was dressed in a simple three-piece western style suit, adorned with a red tie and a myriad of pens glued to his chest pocket, his face was plastered with wrinkles.

''Sorry, sorry.'' Kazuyuki sheepishly rubs his neck in embarrassment while letting out a hearty old man laugh, ''I just.. I'm really, really glad you're still okay, when the hospital informed me about the train incident in Yamita I raced toward you as soon as I could.''

The youth clenched his sheets again, albeit letting out a soft groan of pain as he averted his gaze away from his aged father.

_'The incident, huh..'_

The aged man's expression darkened at his son's behavior, he wanted to speak up to say anything that might comfort his son but, as time passes and he found himself unable to properly express his compassion, was there anything he could do for him at all now?

''...Stay Hospital.'' The sudden voice of Shinichi snapped the older man out of his thoughts.

Kazuyuki rose his brow, ''I'm sorry I missed that, could you repeat that, Shinichi?''

''How long do I need to stay in the hospital?''

''The doctor told me that you need to stay in bed for at least a week or four,'' The father fell silent for a moment, Kazuyuki took a deep long breath, ''Luckily all your vitals were still in one piece, when they found you. I heard from the emergency medical personnel that a woman was trying to stop the bleeding until then, but you had lost a lot of blood. They called me for an emergency blood transfusion.''

Shinichi stopped clenching his sheets and rose his head to meet his father's worried eyes.

''And what about the woman?''

''When I arrived she was long gone, she did stay with you until you until you were wheeled into the emergency care. The staff said she did did leave something for you or so I've heard. It's inside the nightstand,'' Kazuyuki points at the nightstand at my right meticulously, Shinichi's eyes vaguely trail the imaginary line between his finger and the night stand.

''Any survivors beside me?'' A depressive tone was overly apparent in his question.

Kazuyuki remained silent, his expression gave nothing away but, the youth knew that he knew more than he let on.

''Dad..''

His father's eyelids lowered, ''Thirty-eight other people made out of there beside you..''

''They..'' His voice trailed off and he closed his eyes firmly shut whilst running a hand over his forehead, ''They were in really bad shape. Whatever happened, it happened _hard_.''

''Then..'' Shinichi's body began to tremble, his hands and lips quivered. There was a question that was tormenting him, something he needed to ask but couldn't, because if the answer was what he _thinks_ it is..

''What.. about Satomi?''

''She..'' Kazuyuki faced away from his son, unable to look him in the eyes, but Shinichi's faces scrunches and he grits his teeth.

''WHAT ABOUT SATOMI! TELL ME DAD!''

''She died, she died Shinichi!'' Kazuyuki's words are blunt.

Shinichi froze, his body trembled. An unfamiliar force welled through him, chipping away at his calm demeanor at a rapid pace.

''..Out..'' He muttered softly.

''Shinichi..''

...

''Get out..''

...

''Look son, I kno-'' Kazuyuki shortens the distance in an attempt to embrace or cuddle him.

''GET OUT!'' The youth spurted, pushing his father way from him, he was seething and his eyes were glossy.

Kazuyuki stumbled backwards and falls on his bottom, his son displayed a twinge of bewilderment, however, his son's words rung loud and clear in the aged man's mind. He decided it would be for the best to leave his son alone for a bit. He hoisted himself upright thanks to the hospital bed he used as support.

''I'm going to get some coffee..'' His voice was sorrowful, as the aged man closed the door behind him.

Leaving the youth all by his lonesome, alone with his thoughts. His nails dug into the skin of his palms, the fresh words of his father blotted his mind loud and clear.

_'She died, Shinichi.'_

''No! You're wrong! She's still alive. I know she is.''

_'She died!'_

''No you're _WRONG_!''

**_SMASH!_**

The bedridden youth brought down his fist to the nightstand next his bed, it couldn't withstand the force of the youth's rage and one drawer was catapulted onto his lap with the all the kinetic force imposed on it. The contents of the drawer tumbled against his chest and before he knew it he found himself staring at object in confusion before realization kicked in.

It was white mask, a Guy Fawkes mask..

Shinichi's face turned pale at the sight of it, his breathing turning ragged and uneven as his eyes dart around the outlines of the mask.

_'Blood.'_

Words were written on the front side of the mask, written in blood, and from the smell of it _his_ _own blood_.Tears welled up in his eyes, before streaming down his crusty cheeks.

_I will come for you Izumi Shinichi, Just you wait.. - With Love, you know who._

The first day of the end of his life started in boisterous screams of fear and rage.

Rage for what he has lost.. Fear for what fate _awaits him _at the end of it..


	5. Ire's Reincarnation

_**Author Notes**_

_Here it is, the (anti)climactic ending of the very first arc of A Bridge Between Worlds. __I won't hold you all captive too long, since I wrote more than enough expositional banter in the extra note at the end of the chapter. __God forbid how long I've kept you all waiting for this, my most humble apologies about that by the way. __I recommend to read this chapter with the song Whispers by Priolan, during a certain scene, you'll know when._

_Either way, (*Insert how I wish you all lots of reading pleasure here*)._

* * *

_[__Chapter 5 - Ire's Reincarnation__]_

* * *

"_Anteiku_.."

Shinichi whispered, as he read the characters engraved on the silver colored plate mounted on the brick wall.

_'Why am I here..?'_

He.. He was sleeping in his bed just a moment ago.. Could it be another one of those really vivid dreams? What do they call them again..? _Lucid dreams_.

The boy shook his head, somehow.. It wouldn't add up of if it were one of those dreams.. This is too..

"It's too.. serene to be one of those dreams..," Shinichi mumbled, his face darkened and his brows hastily clamped together in discomfort.

_'After all, those dreams weren't dreams at all.. They were nightmares.'_

Nightmares that he had been witnessing every other night or so. They were relentless, dark, gruesome and they all showed the exact same thing over and over again. It was as if his own dreams began to mock him for his powerlessness, his inability to save the one dearest to him. He could laugh at the sheer irony of it all, if the was somewhat bearable, _if_ only that was the case.

Supposedly the purple haired woman did not only maim his body, but also his very being as a person. Everything he fought for over the course of two painful years was rendered nil in one moment, one singular moment. That was all it took to rob him from his_ happiness_, from his _future_, from the final _gift_ Migi entrusted to him before he went into eternal slumber.

It still baffled him every second of the day, how everything was lost in the wink of eye, in the fraction of a second, by one _wrong_ choice. Would it have made a difference if he decided not to celebrate their 4th anniversary and Satomi's graduation in Nerima, or would fate's boundless hand chase him to the end of the world, so he could meet whatever punishment awaited for him there.

The youth's head lowered slowly as the questions bombarded his solemn mind, he found no answer to any of them, even in the vastness of dreams his current horrors still found a way to reach out to him, despite his intense protesting.

_'I guess no place is safe anymore..,'_ The boy finally admitted in a cynical and jaded fashion.

It was during his contemptuous epiphany that a droplet fell from the ashen sky, it settled on his chocolate hair with a soft 'splash'. The sudden wetness snapped the boy out his stupor, and his head mirrored the direction where the wetness originated from. He met a sad colored sky, littered with silvery clouds hovering above him ominously, it was a clear hint of what would soon follow.

_'Rain,'_ The boy anticipated with ease.

As if beckoned by his call, a downpour of rain crashed down on his person, drenching the three-piece charcoal colored suit he was wearing, and soaked the area that surrounded him.

_'Wait, a suit?!'_

He fervently checked every inch of his body with his eyes and sure enough, he was clad in neat, proper and now moist suit. What surprised him the most wasn't the fact that he only got wetter and wetter by the second, no it was the fact that his tie was in a neat and pristine condition. He.. Doesn't know how to tie a tie, a simple skill that he just couldn't master, no matter how many times his father demonstrated the sophisticated feat to him.

''Uhmm.. Sir, you might want to head inside before you catch a cold.''

Shinichi's mouth simply dropped to the pavement as he just heard the suit.. _Speak_?

''Sir! I implore you to head inside before you catch whatever disease currently flies in the air.''

The youth's eyes widen, he had seen lots of bizarre events in his life, such as boy of his own age with largely, misshapen, parasitic jaw, but a talking suit just seemed _way_ out of line, it was almost jarring to him. He suddenly frowns as a thought just crossed his mind.

_'I am surprised by a talking suit, while three years ago I had a talking hand as an companion. Good on you Shinichi, apparently you are going **INSANE** right now.'_

''Sir!''

The sound seemed much louder this time than before, could it be that the suit actually holds a preference to heat or cold. _How scary_..

It was only due to the sensation of touch that Shinichi snapped out of his amazement, which he already coined _'Sutsu'_ by now. He was completely embarrassed as noticed a distinct mop of short metallic-like purple hair in his peripheral vision, which glared daggers at him complete her hands rested on her hips.

_'Oh.. oooh.. OH?!'_

Shinichi's gaze lowered to the girl standing at chest height before him, her violet eyes were narrowed at him, her eyes were sharp as if every centimeter of his soul was being inspected by heliotrope beads in her sockets. The rain droplets that moistened her skin only further emphasized her budding beauty and enigmatic aura. She was clad in some sort of salt and pepper colored uniform, it reminded Shinichi of a waitress uniform he saw in a cafe not too long ago. Needless to say that uniform was now just as damp as his _magical_ suit.

''Sir! Will you stop ignoring me!'' Her tone was an angry one, not agitated but a simple, honest rage.

''Huh? Oh.. oh, yeah. What were you saying again?''

_'Really Shinichi? Smooth man.. Real smooth,'_ The boy chastised himself sarcastically.

The waitress rubbed the bridge of her nose as her eyes squinted harshly, in what he assumed was frustration. Shinichi made a wild guess just for the heck of it, this girl probably doesn't like him very much.

''You've been standing in front of the cafe for hours onward, are you going to get inside or are you going _piss off_?!'' The last part of her sentence was particularly harsh for girl of her stature, the boy wondered what he did in order to press her buttons in the wrong way.

_'Wait? Hours?'_

''I.. Uh.. Guess I'll head inside then.'' He said sheepishly, embarrassed by the whole situation in general, but he promptly swept his discomfort under the rug.

The girl's mouth corners curved into a small.. Smile? For some reason, he had the suspicion that the smile he was seeing wasn't in fact a real smile at all. It was a weird sensation that he just couldn't place, like it was eating at him from the inside. As soon as the smile suddenly appeared, it was gone within the bat of an eyelash and the girl in uniform up and vanished on him.

_'What.. Was that just now? Wasn't there person here?'_

The more he tried to focus on the features of the girl, the more the memories of slipped away, it all faded like melting snow. After a full minute of focusing on the image of that girl, it completely vanished and the only thing that was left was the strange urge to enter the cafe. Following his gut, Shinichi scaled the stairs till he reached a single door on his right, two small rectangular windows adorned the door and an ornate looking doorknob nearly begged the young man to open the door.

So he did..

The soft chime of a bell hums into his ears as the scenery materialized before his eyes, tables, seats, a bar, coffee, lots of coffee in jars and an overall cozy atmosphere greeted him as he stepped inside. He could faintly note the sound of water droplets pelting the laminated floor. The familiar scent of coffee filled his superhuman nostrils, it reminded him of home, Satomi's home in particular since her father Souichirou was borderline addicted to that stuff. Something in the back of his mind tells him that that Souichirou would have loved to drink coffee in this place, together with her..

A tear rolled down his face as he was once again reminded of the sadness he tries to avoid in the landscape of dreams, it wasn't until a handkerchief was handed to him that he noted the person standing before him. A boy with sad smile on his lips, raven black hair adorned his scalp and medical eye patch clouded Shinichi's perception of the boy's other steel colored eye. He too wore that same salt and pepper out fit as.. What was that just now? Did he see someone wearing that same outfit? But.. There was none outside.

''Thank yo-..'' Before the suit clad youth could finish his sentence the boy vanished before his eyes leaving behind only the handkerchief he gave to Shinichi.

He stood there in plain shock for a few moments before he wiped his moistened cheeks dry, it was then that the thought occurred to him..

_'How did I get this handkerchief?'_

This time it was laughter that snapped him out of his daze. Yet, it wasn't the sound that did this, it was who the sound originated from. The handkerchief glided from his hand the moment his eyes laid upon a very familiar person.. No, very familiar people.

He did not only saw Satomi sitting near a table next to a large movable glass door, but also the brown haired Akiho Suzuki and the dark haired Yuko Tachikawa, Satomi's.. No, their best friends, but they were also accompanied by two boys who seemed old enough to be in junior high school and also... _Himself_?!

Somehow this scene causes the memories in Shinichi's head to stir and throb like a bad case of migraine and the most ominous sense of deja vu overwhelmed him, but like most things this strange dream offered him, he couldn't make sense out of it. Upon noticing ragtag bunch of people seated in the lively, yet empty Anteiku he bolted straight at them, Satomi specifically. As his hand reaches reaches out to her it fades through her body like one of those fancy holograms he saw in that first-person shooter game named.. _Nimbus_.. or was it _Aureole, _no I believe it was_ Halo_?

In fact every single one of them was untouchable, continuing their animated conversation in the eerily empty café. Having no other option he decided to stand in between his younger looking self and the former image of his lost lenore and eavesdropped on their interactions.

Suzuki's smile nearly curved to her ears as she laughed loud and boisterously, brimming with self-justified pride, ''Gwahaha~! See, I told you this place served amazing coffee.''

''I have to hand it to you Akiho-chan, you know do know your stuff,'' Satomi complimented with a warm smile on her lips as she took another sip of the cup coffee she held within her fingers.

''Wahahaooow! This some great coffee lady, thanks for the invite,'' The young dirty blond lad voiced in appreciative tone, after downing the entire cup at once. His face turned red like tomato as he coughs several times, earning several snickers from both Suzuki and the younger, more laid back Shinichi.

For a moment the suit clad Shinichi felt a pang of jealousy course through him, as he watched his younger self relax into his seat and grip Satomi's hand underneath the coffee table. His lips quivered a bit, but he did his best to continue to focus on the scene before him.

''Oh.. Yes, thank you so much for inviting us with you,'' The meeker raven haired boy articulated in a hushed manner, but from what the suit clad youth could infer, the boy was honest in his compliment.

Tachikawa's eyebrows drooped as she heard the boy's meek reply, she gave the younger boy a wink before trying to cheer him up, ''Don't worry about it, Kaneki-san. After what happened earlier I'm sure you needed some relaxation.''

The boy dubbed Kaneki averted his eyes for a moment as he laughed awkwardly, trying desperately to hide the rosy tint that began to color his pale cheeks, however the blond haired boy next to him notices this and poked his side with his elbow.

''C'mon Kaneki, stop being such a worrywart all the time. You're embarrassing me.'' The blond boy exclaimed a tad too loud causing Kaneki's cheeks to turn rosier as Tachibana shuffled uncomfortably in her seat, poking own her cheeks in order to relieve the awkwardness in her body.

''Oh! Yuko, I didn't know you liked shotas. You sly cougar you,'' Suzuki teased.

This time it's Tachibana's turn to blush fiercely as she was shoved into the center of attention by her friend, ''I didn't mean it that way..''

Both Shinichis narrowed their gaze at Suzuki in unison, only his younger version spoke up to voice the dismay both of them are feeling at the moment, ''Suzuki, _no_.''

''Ah don't be such a party pooper, Shin-chan. Live a little, you're gonna die all grumpy and jaded if you keep this up.'' She teased with her tongue deftly sticking out of her mouth, making making a 'come here' motion with it.

''Better that then-'' Shinichi tried to to counter, but then the group heard a loud cough emanating from the blond boy who had risen from his seat, ready to announce whatever he wished to say with determination. All eyes turned to him in response and smirk showed on the boy's face, even the suit clad eavesdropper listened wordlessly to whatever the boy was about to say.

He held the anticipation of everyone for many moments, so much so that both the younger Shinichi and Kaneki started to frown at their blond companion urging to just _'spit it out'_ already.

''Hurry up and just spe-'' And once again Shinichi was caught off guard and interrupted by the blond youth much to his own chagrin.

''I just wanted to quickly announce that Kaneki and I are planning to apply at Kamii University as soon as we finish high school.''

''Wow, Nagachika-san that's-'' He hushed the excited Satomi with another loud cough.

''So.. When our admission is granted, let's do this again as a celebration, then you guys are officially our senpais,'' Nagachika concluded with a grin, ''Oh well, except for Izumi-san,'' The youth added, with sly glance at the bronze haired youth sitting at the opposite end of the table.

Shinichi's brow twitched, ''Why.. You little..''

''Yes! Let's do that,''

The heads of everyone collectively whirled to Kaneki who was mostly silent during the conversation but found a way to entrance everyone with the warm smile he gave, he was all for the notion of meeting up again in the future and so was everyone else judging from there expressions pasted on their features. The suit clad Shinichi looked happily at the scene before him, it was as if a long lost nostalgic memory surfaced in his mind. For a moment that was enough to release him from the shackles of sadness, just a moment though.

It was then that the scene faded out of existence, Kaneki, Nagachika, Suzuki, Tachibana and Satomi faded away just like the bar he was located in. Only his younger self remained, as he gradually turned towards the his elder self, his gaze was one of non-emotion, there was nothing remotely human left in his body language, eyes nor expression.

The world around him fell apart as his doppelganger uttered one word.

''_Awaken_.''

* * *

**!Scene Break!**

* * *

''... - Railway is still in repair - ... - Accident that claimed 37 Lives.''**  
**

Shinichi winces as the soft humming of his television slowly rose him from slumber, everything felt blurry and off balance. The youth's eyes fluttered as the golden yellow sunlight stung his unprepared eyes. For some reason wherever his head was, it felt much better than being here right now. Shinichi slowly arched his body backwards and a satisfying 'crack' left his body, leaving the boy a tad more rejuvenated than he did before.

He noted that he fell asleep behind his computer once again, a peek at the dimly lit monitor revealed that last night's searches for the enigmatic _Veracity _turned fruitless again. The English word itself meant _truth_ but how tied into the Yamita train incident was a _truth shrouded in darkness._

Shinichi chuckled at his vain attempt to humor himself with a stale joke.

''Yamita Railway is still in repair after a horrible accident that claimed over 37 lives two months ago. Authorities still have no clue how the train engine suddenly combusted, but it is presumed that technical difficulties were at play.''

Whatever energy the young Shinichi had when waking up had completely dissipated after hearing the news reporter repeat the same news he kept hearing again and again in the hospital. It sickened him to the stomach how bloated the media around this area of Tokyo had become, journalists were ready to jump at every scoop they have and cling to it until everyone could memorize their messages word for word.

The boy groaned as he rubbed his eyes lazily, crusty skin wilted from his face and fluttered onto the heated floor beneath his feet, it's been days since he last took a proper bath and it shows, a dirty white tanktop is he what chose to wear for days and a smelly pair boxers to top it off and of course a traditional bedhead to boot.

''Yamita Railway is still in repair after a horri-,''Shinichi grabbed the nearest object beside him, which unluckily for him was his cellphone and threw at the television in pure, blind frustration. Denting the small television in the process.

''**SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY!**'' He wailed, while burying his head in his hands. The boy bit his lips as a sudden shot of pain coursed through him, his newly made scars on his abdomen and left hand throbbed underneath their bandages, it once again reminded him of how close he'd cut it this time.

It's been days since since he'd been released from the hospital, though most of his life threatening injuries healed up nicely such as his four broken ribs that nearly pierced his lungs at some point or the fact that his body had been pierced thoroughly save for all his internal organs, which _miraculously_ avoided fatal harm.

_'Heh.. Miraculously, my ass.'_

There was no way that it was fluke that the purple haired ghoul left him alive, from what he could piece together from that day, that woman was no amateur when it came to killing and consuming other living people. She was stone cold killer, hardened by whatever she went through. She was merciless and lacked any kind of heart that would make a person, a ordinary person.

That woman was a spitting image of _him_.. And now Shinichi doesn't have one inhuman monster chasing him in his dreams but two of them. The ghoul and the parasite, how ironic that two symbiotic beings were so tightly knit in his life, in a negative way.

He laughed, and laughed, and laughed and cried, he cried non-existent tears, lamenting how fate always keeps haunting him.

_'Why me..? Why always me..? Why couldn't it be someone else? Haven't I lost enough?'_

All of these thoughts and its numerous variations haunted Shinichi since his father told him the truth about Satomi, since then every single day has been hell, a living hell where she isn't there to keep him company anymore, when she was still around he could face anything, but now nothing was left of the person he himself once admired in the mirror everyday, the Shinichi Izumi he _identified_ with, the Shinichi Izumi he was _proud_ of.

Only an living zombi-, Only a living _ghoul_ remained in that person's absence. A person filled with regret, guilt, angst, sorrow, rage and death.

''Shinichi, breakfast is ready!''

Beckoned by the call of his father, Shinichi trudged downstairs what was going to be another _long_.. _Long_, very _long_ and _painful_ day for him.

''Well, you sure look handsome today.''

''You can quit the sarcasm dad,'' Shinichi quickly shot back at his father's sarcasm-filled statement.

Kazuyki rubbed his head indignantly as he gave a hearty chuckle, ''Sorry, sorry.. I just couldn't resist it.''

Sprawled out on the table was pair of ornate-looking chopsticks, several bowl and plates filled with food. The aroma of freshly presented breakfast made Shinichi's stomach realize how desperately it needed sustenance. A loud churning noise escapes his stomach, and Kazuyuki's head shook in response.

Shinichi ignored his father's slightly disappointed face as he seated himself on the chair, quickly digging in on the bowl of rice. The boy couldn't help, but sigh as he realized that his dad made the same breakfast yet again today.

''Again with fried chicken and fried tofu, dad?''

Kazuyuki rose a brow as his happy smile turned more neutral, ''Eh? If you start complaining about breakfast you may try doing it_ yourself_, you lazy bum.''

''Harsh, dad,'' Shinichi returned in deadpan manner.

''Right..,'' Kazuyuki pressed the piece of fried chicken in his into his mouth and soon chewing sounds filled the air.

''So.. Are your injuries okay now?'' His father questioned as another piece of tofu disappears within his lips.

''They mostly itch from time to time, but it scarred up rather nicely in my opinion.''

''Oh.. Uh.. I see..,'' Kazuyuki responded in a hushed tone, as he scratched his cheek.

Shinichi continued to eat in silence, trying to avoid the idle banter he usually has with his father during this time of the day. His father however, started to converse again, this time with an unfavorable subject to boot.

''I've left your suit by the bathroom door. You didn't forget that we're leaving for her grave today, right?''

_'Forget..? How could I forget? Are you really..?'_

''Of course I didn't forget, dad.'' A somber tone lingered in his sentence, Shinihci really doesn't want to speak about this.

Kazuyuki gave a silent nod as he finished his bowl of rice, ''I'll do the dishes, just get ready okay. We're going to visit your mom too today, not to mention that we have to visit to the Murano household too.''

As he made his way to the kitchen he turned his head one more time to his son, ''You can't stay like this forever.''

The youth remained silent as he downed a piece of fried tofu, his head lowered as he sighed loud and obnoxiously.

''_Right_..''

* * *

**...**

* * *

_'I hate graveyards..'_

The youth inquired as he took another stride on the pebbled road, his lips scrunched together forming a thin line. His heart veiled in order to break down in sadness, his mind cluttered with regret and fond memories.

As the youth took another step on the pebbled path towards more graves, his eyes tracked a family grave to his side. Guilt hit the youth's weak heart more as his eyes continue to stare at the memorial stone before him.

_'Look at me, Satomi. I'm even too late for your funeral. I guess somethings don't change..'_

Whilst his eyes never left the unknown family tombstone, his hands dug into his the pockets of his black pantaloons and familiar white colored ear buds appear from it. He lazily put one of them in his ear, allowing the soft sounds of an acoustic guitar to slightly ease away his worries and anxieties. While his favorite song echoed through his skull he briskly walked forwards to catch the dissipating silhouette of his father, he never turned back to the family grave.

His father stood stationary in front of large rectangular tombstone, kanji characters were engraved to signify the names of the deceased. This tombstone in front of him, it read; _Izumi Nobuko_. It was the tombstone of his late mother.

Shinichi's fist clenched as he stood in front the recently cleaned tombstone. After all, he was staring at the very first person he couldn't save. The very person he wished to save so badly that his chest showcased that wish in the form of agony as pumped too much blood too fast. Shinichi's breath hastened and mind blanked out.

_'Why do I have to lose everything?'_

The soft humming of the acoustic guitar pierced his ears and allowed him to calm his heart with ease. Till this day Shinichi still couldn't face his mom's grave properly, his heart aching and hurting whenever he even within the vicinity of it. This music piece he's listing to now, _Whispers, _was one of the very few things that could calm him down instantaneously.

The youth's eyes tracked his father, who busy cleaning the dirty grave with only a rag to help him. Kazuyuki wasn't there anymore, his body was present but his mind was far, very far away. His eyes always died when stepped in the immediate proximity off his wife's grave. Shinichi didn't nearly visit his mother's grave as often as his dad does, but when he's with him Kazuyuki always reverts to this state, no exceptions.

He knelt in front of his wife's grave, not bothering with the fact he is dirtying his tuxedo doing so. Complete silence passed as Kazuyuki prayed, not even the occasional bystander made a sound as they passed, his dad is so far in touch with his spirituality that people even _felt_ that they shouldn't bother him.

''Go on, I'll be here for a bit,'' The elder man muttered, after the last word passed his lips he continued providing unwavering attention to the grave in front of him.

The boy let the words sink in for a moment as he firmly gazed at his mother's grave once more..

_'Bye mom..'_

Shinichi glanced at his father before he turned around and departed to section where the recently deceased are buried, she should be right in that section after all. The strong scent of earth wafted through his nostrils as the youth paced past many graves, his eyes scanning every single one of them. Until he finally met the one he was searching for.

The small rectangular stone glossed in the noon sun, highlighting the funereal atmosphere swirling around it. The shade of a large oak tree overshadowed Shinichi's face, the youth couldn't help but stare at the engraving on the tombstone; Here lies our wonderful daughter, granddaughter, friend and lover_ Murano Satomi_.

_Murano Satomi lies here_..

_'Satomi..'_

''Hey..'' The boy quivered within his charcoal suit.

The boy's fists compressed with every ounce of his strength, ''Wake up, lazy bum.. You're worrying everyone, you know.''

Izumi Shinichi stood paralyzed, simply rooted to the ground. Just like the oak tree by Satomi's grave. Why? He was waiting; waiting for his beloved to utter a word, waiting for her to jump out of her grave simply to tell him that he should smile, waiting for the enthusiastic words of encouragement she always gave him.

He was waiting for Satomi to prove the world wrong, that she wasn't dead and she's simply asleep. Even though he waited, and waited, and waited. Nothing changed, everything remained the same. Yet, he refused to shed tears, he refused to accept the truth everyone and everything tried to force feed him. There was simply no way that Satomi was dead.

She was simply _sleeping_..

_Sleeping_..

_Endlessly.._

...

He gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowed and his brows wrinkled together, ''You are not dead!''

''**YOU ARE NOT DEAD**!'' Shinichi forced out of his lungs, digging his fingers as deep in his hand as he could. The youth could care less about the other people gazing at him, they wouldn't understand.. Nobody would..

He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry, he wanted to see her face, he wanted to see her smile, he wanted to hear her words, he wanted to die alongside her. Yet he knows he couldn't do that, doing that would mean accepting her loss, doing that would only prove the world right and him wrong, doing that would sadden her. Murano Satomi isn't dead, she's immortal and undying.

Because she's within his heart. Within his being, within his soul.

She could _never_ die, because he will carry his guilt for as long time could tell.

* * *

**...**

* * *

''Shinichi, you sure about this?''

Shinichi forced himself to smile, his face displayed weariness but he'd rather get all the troublesome stuff out of the way right now rather than procrastinating it for as long as could, besides if he didn't face them now, who knows when he'll ever do that.

''It's okay, dad. Go on home. I'll be back before you know it.''

Kazuyuki nodded, ''You always do.''

He drove off in his black Honda, the smell of burnt gasoline lingered the youth's superhuman nostrils as he turned to the Murano household. Taking a deep breath he proceeded to stride forwards, before he'd regret his decision.

_'It's now or never.'_

_Knock~!_

_Knock~!_

_Knock~!_

The neatly dressed boy tapped his foot in impatience as he waited for one of his family-in-law to open the door, but moments pass and Shinichi's impatience grew with every culminating second.

He knocked again, ''Yo lawful dad, lawful mom. You in there?'' Shinichi's arms intertwine as he waited, tapping of his foot increasing in speed and noise.

The birds in the neighborhood tweeted loudly in the distance, it was distracting to him. He was trying to hear if there were any voices coming out of the locked door, the tweeting certainly didn't help him discern the noise better.

''Hmm..''

Perhaps they weren't home at all and he was just wasting his free time right now. Mayhap it was just better and take off while the sun is still shining; it was a beautiful Sunday after all, why waste it by standing here. It wasn't as if he couldn't come again in the future anyway.

He prepared to leave briskly turning on his feet, he pocketed his hands and pulled out his ear buds again. It would be a pain to walk all the way back, but that's what you get if you visit someone without notifying them in advance. The soft tune of the acoustic guitar hummed in the boy's ear again, he playfully whistled the tune out loud.

_'Such is life..'_

''Izumi-kun?'' A voice muttered out weakly.

''Hm?'' The youth whirled his head back, ''Oh? Lawful mo- Shizuka-san. You are home after all.''

The brown haired, mature woman nodded, ''If you're looking for Souichirou, don't bother. He's out shopping for groceries.''

The boy in suit shook his head, he hastily pulled the earplug from his ear, ''I was meaning to speak to the both of you. It's about.. ''

The woman's tired, dark brown eyes drooped and turned even darker than they were just now, her shoulders slumped noticeably. Shinichi felt uncomfortable that he had to remind the woman of her despair, to be fair he wanted to get the whole situation done and over with too.

''Come on in then..''

The exhausted woman pulled back the door, revealing her creased white XXL shirt that reached past her knees; exposing the lower portion of her legs and the messy bronze bedhead that could skewer Shinichi's fingers if he tried to touch it.

''Are.. Are you okay, Shizuka-san?'' The half breed boy's neutral expression swapped to one more expressive in worry.

''I'm fine..''

Once inside the boy haphazardly bumped into the woman, causing her to tumble over. She wasn't really paying attention to the fact that she left too little space for the boy to fit thus resulting in this incident. Shinichi hurriedly apologized for his action, but Shizuka merely shrugged it off stating that it was her fault. As she took the boy's hand in hers she finally started to notice the tuxedo he was wearing.

''Did you visit her grave today?'' She asked with a tilted head.

''Yeah.. I did. It.. It was a beautiful grave.'' He eyes signify downcast.

She stood up on her own two feet, veraciously preening her extra large shirt, ''I'm sorry that we couldn't push the funeral till your release from Yamita Hospital.''

_'Even now, she still thinks more of my troubles than her own.'_

The boy held his hands up trying to wave away the apology, ''No.. No, it's alright. It would've only cost you more if you waited for me.''

''That's true.'' The woman shifted uncomfortably before she led him to the familiar living quarters, ''Tachibana and Suzuki expressed lots of worry about your critical condition in the hospital.''

''I see..'' Shinichi voiced, whilst he sat down on a comfy leather seat.

''Tea? Water? Anything else?''

''No thank you.'' The boy declined politely.

Taking a seat across me, she folded her legs on top of another, ''What did you want to discuss?''

Shinichi stumbled on the corrected words as his minds wandered, and his thoughts clashed with what he believed to be the right thing.

_'Would it really be the right choice to say that Ghouls ended Satomi's life. Not some accident..'_

''I..''

_'Wouldn't it cause them more grief? Wouldn't it be selfish of me to make conjecture like this?'_

A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek, as the words were about to burst from his tongue. Yet, no matter how hard he forced himself to say the words, he couldn't as if an invisible gag forbade him from uttering those words. It's quite unfair, even though he's as resolute as he is, he is still suck within his own doubts.

No.. It doesn't seem right to involve them, Shizuka and Souichirou went through enough as it was. To tell them that the accident wasn't an accident at all would be shameful of him. After all, he made the decision to reject Satomi's death; Not them..

_'They don't need to suffer my pain along with me..'_

Shinichi stood up and calmly paced towards the tired women, he dropped to his knees and lowered his head till his forehead could kiss the ground. The coldness of the laminated floor made it more uncomfortable for him, but it was something he had to do. It was his fault after all, his own weakness that drove her to her death. The least he could do is plead for forgiveness.

''I.. I wasn't strong enough to protect her. I.. I..''

''Shinichi..,'' The mature woman shook her head, she abandoned her leather seat to crouch before him, ''You aren't to blame, and shouldn't blame yourself. It was out of your hands. So rise and keep going with a smile.''

The woman lifted Shinichi's head from the floor, his eyes met a tear stained smiling face.

''Live and be happy, that's what Satomi would have wanted for you.''

* * *

**...**

* * *

_'Live and be happy, huh?'_

That was certainly easier said then done. Maybe it was wrong to visit the Murano household as soon as he did, Shizuka certainly couldn't handle the amount of emotion he'd drew out of her. He felt guilty, he should have known that doing something like this would've upset the mother. It seems like whatever situation he'd try to fix resulted into breaking anyway, sometimes even worse and it did beforehand.

The tired youth sighed, as he reached the familiar surroundings of his own neighborhood. The boy smiled as a pair of children passed by him happily playing along, making him think about how simple life was back then; where your only worries were playing, eating, sleeping and making friends.

_'I still need to get my novel done within now and 2 months..'_

Another heavy sigh escapes his lips, he totally forgot about the deadline. It's a miracle his publisher hasn't already asked for a sample of his writing work, they would chew him out the moment they know that he hadn't even made a proper title for the story. Sometimes he wondered how even managed to get into the writing business..

His worries and self-deprecating doubts halt when stopped in front of his home. There was a car parked near his home, the strange thing was it wasn't dad's Honda. It was completely different car of the same color, did his father's co-workers arrive to chat up like they usually do? It seemed to be the same car as he saw sometime earlier.

The boy scratched his head, as he bit his lip. After staring at the foreign object he turned and opened the door to his home.

''I'm home!''

Shinichi slipped off his shoes and walks towards the living room, whilst he stretched his sore muscles. It has been ages since he worked out, he certainly has fallen quite out of shape now.

As he struts into the room, two unfamiliar faces turned in his direction. One male, with a sharp gaze, ebony, slicked back hair and a blue three-piece suit. The other was a woman dressed in a maroon suit with a similar business skirt, her posture was relaxed and compared to man beside her she seemed to have fun, her hair was auburn yet for some reason it almost looked like rust in his eyes, must be the strange color.

His father must have noticed the stiffness in the atmosphere as he gave a hearty laugh, drawing the attention back to himself.

''Welcome home Shinichi, you have some visitors who came down a long way to see you.'' The mature man pointed at the duo who were seated at the opposite side of the kotatsu.

The youth's eyebrow rose in confusion as he eyed up his visitors, ''Who are you and Why are you here?''

''I presume you are Izumi Shinichi-san, then?'' The man half questioned as his eyes narrowed at the suit clad boy.

''Yes.''

The very moment he replied, the woman shot an intense gaze at him, however the boy remained calm as he always is during unknown situations. He simply smiles in her direction, earning a snort from his father. The woman then turned to Kazuyuki..

''I'm sorry Izumi-san, could you please leave us alone. We like discuss something with Shinichi in private.'' The woman conveyed with glee.

''I see then, well.. I needed to something anyway. I'll be back in a jiffy.'' Kazuyuki stood and passed Shinichi.

''If something is the matter, don't hesitate to call or something.'' The father smirked as clasped his son's shoulder for a moment before he wore his shoes and left.

Shinichi took the seat his left behind, allowing him to face the two visitors directly, the man made a short bow.

''I am Houji Kousuke, Associate special class of the Commission of Counter Ghoul Bureau,'' The man gracefully indicated his partner, ''This is my subordinate from the Anti-Ghoul Battalion in China,''

The woman cleared her throat loudly, ''_Former_ subordinate.''

Houji payed the woman beside him no mind, which caused her eyebrow to twitch in frustration as she huffed noisily, ''Urgh.. Stop being like that..''

Shinichi stifled the awkward laugh that tried to force its way out, realization welted him as his thoughts finally began to process and analysed Houji's words. _Ghoul_,_ Commission of Counter Ghoul_. They might have the answers he sought for. Shinichi's face grew more serious as he adjusted to the information provided to him.

''Houji-san. What is your business with me?''

The man faced his partner and then Shinichi once more, his face also reciprocated Shinichi's growing seriousness.

''We want you, Izumi Shinichi.''

* * *

_[Culmination of the Exordium Arc]_

* * *

**_Extra Note_  
**

_Okay this is new.. I need to get used to doing this, you know.. Notes on the bottom of a story and all.._

_So this took a while, sorry guys. I keep trying to find a method to help me write better in a more consistent pace. The search so far is completely and utterly fruitless. I do however have some joyous news for you grimy lot (no offense). I decided to add in certain 'special' chapter after every single arc, these arcs will delve in a little deeper into the characters Shinichi (and others) interacted with in either the past that relegated obscure by now or within small time skips every chapter has._

_I hope they'll bring further reading pleasure to all of you guys, you can expect the first 'special' chapter very soon [I hope] thanks to a certain writer named Ba-.. I meant Adzan.. Yes! That!_

_Every reader ever: ''WHY U NO UPDATE?__!''_

_*Sigh* I get it.. More updates soon! Yep, I get it. I'm so sorry for the wait you guys, but I have to compromise with a lot of other __things, so I don't have the amount of time needed to pump out this story in a constant pace. My life has been quite a hassle for sometime now, I'm currently moving to a new location as well so that will also take lots and lots of my time and energy._

_Thanks guys for reading this extra note, stay awesome._

_I wish you all lots and lots of reading pleasure in the near future._


	6. Special Chapter - Converging Nexus

_**Author Notes**_

_Without Adieu, I announce to you the very first special chapter of A Bridge Between Worlds._

_For clarification, this special chapter is set a year after the events of the final Parasyte chapter/episode, yet at the same time it's also after Shinichi's hospitalization, eh.. Dreams are weird, don't blame **me**. Blame the me who blames you, who believes in the dreams of you and me..  
_

_It stars our fallen heroine of Parasyte, Satomi, for the very last time in this fanfic (alive, at least). I hope this little background segment will be something worthwhile, to you guys._

_Also, there are some anime references sprinkled about in this chapter, cookie for the person, who notices it first. _

_All in all, I wish you all lots of reading pleasure!_

_(I know that I've really let time slide this time around, but instead of apologizing, I'll just continue to do whatever I can to make this story the best it can be. Even if months turn into years. I just hope that you, the readers are willing to embark on that journey with me. It'll be a long and arduous one, but it'll be fun!)_

* * *

_[Special Chapter - Converging Nexus]_

* * *

**_..Somewhere In Nerima, Tokyo.._**

* * *

"Satomi! Wait up!''

The girl whirled her head backwards in order to take in the image of her boyfriend, Izumi Shinichi. His face displayed a sullen expression, with sweat pooling down his face and even streaming down his new expensive glasses.

"C'mon Shinichi. It's going to be j~~~ust fine. You'll pass, and we'll attend the same college together," She stated with a smile, while extending the vowels in her _'just'_.

"How can you be so calm about this, I mean isn't this the school you wanted to attend to since you were a kid. What if you failed..? What if I failed?" The younger man replied, while scratching the back of his scalp frantically in order to relieve his poorly withheld anxiety.

Needless to say, he did quite a bad job at it, and Shinichi knew it all to well.

Satomi stopped dead in her tracks on the asphalt paved street, she turned on her toes to gaze at her boyfriend in sheer stupor. Her short maroon hair cuts through the air swiftly as she made the sudden movement. Her gaze reflected her annoyance.

''Are you going to be a worrywart all day? Just try to be optimistic for once, jeez.'' The maiden spat, she puffed her out her cheeks and reached out to her boyfriend's rough palm, clutching it tightly. The boy tries to recoil but found an uncanny resistance from the girl standing in front of him.

''H-H-Hey! Wh- What are you doing?'' A luminescent blush formed on Shinichi's face, he vainly tried to hide it by looking at the sky. His mind deters for a moment when notices that the sky is completely clear, not single cloud dirtied the sky.

''Going to speed this trip up for a bit, since you're walking, oh~ so~ slow~ly,'' To prove a point the the shorter girl mockingly slowed down the pace of her sentence.

Returning his eyes to his girlfriend, he found himself staring right into hers, she flutters her eyes as she pursed her lips almost seductively.

''Alright! Alright! I get it. Stop trying to embarrass me, already,'' Shinichi stated, while poking his girlfriend's shoulder meagerly.

''Ow! That hurts,'' Satomi imitated a fake pained expression in order to fool her taller boyfriend, but he wasn't so easily fooled.

Shinichi gave her a playful shove and girl stumbled backwards almost in a cutesy fashion, she whips out her arms and flails in order to regain her lost balance. She narrowed her eyes at the youth after she meticulously regained her balance, but the urge to tease Satomi further kept welling up inside Shinichi.

''Don't be such a baby. I know you're faking it.'' The youth replied with a small smile on his cheeks.

''Aw.. You caught me red handed. Bu~~t I did got that smile of yours going,'' She quickly moved in close to Shinichi's face and planted a kiss on his right cheek, the boy's blush worsened to the point he almost resembled a tomato.

The girl unhanded his palm runs in front of him, only to look back once to whip out her tongue in a playful manner. She proceeds to dash off into the distance leaving the glasses-wearing youth to smirk absentmindedly, while gazing at the spot his girlfriend stood just a moment ago.

''Oh, you're so _dead_ now,'' He countered, while narrowing his eyes determinedly and letting the playful glint in his eyes shine.

Within the blink of an eye, Shinichi vanished from the space he just occupied. The fibers of dust barely settled in his absence.

* * *

**...**

* * *

''Can you please put me down, Shinichi?''

''No can do, you're the one who let come to this in the first place, Satomi.''

''Pretty please let me down?'' She gave him the trademark _'puppy eyes'_.

The youth's eyebrow rose in confusion for a moment, when he stared into Satomi's large watery orbs, within moments aloofness took his facial expression hostage and his eyelids lower.

''You know that it doesn't work on me..'' He returned in a deadpan manner, uncaring of the suspicious looks the young people around him were starting to give him.

''But.. Everyone is staring at us..'' The young girl pointed out, while hiding her face into her hands in order to obscure the gradually darkening blush on her facial features.

At this revelation Shinichi stole a glance at the various people - or rather to-be students.. That surrounded them. Their eyes emitted large amounts of suspicion and distaste for Shinichi who was escorting his girlfriend on his shoulder, holding her steady and secure by wrapping a arm around her waist. In fact he carried her all the way to their current location, Kamii University.

His eyes narrows precariously as his head whirled from one side to another, a variety of colorful individuals filled his point of view. Though he stopped for a moment to examine two boys who clearly looked like they had nothing to do on the school campus; one had short dirty blond spiky hair, wore a simple beige high school uniform and was peering curiously at him, the other one had a more conservative hairstyle that was raven black in color, wore a more casual outfit compared to his blond counterpart and had a more timid aura surrounding him.

''She's my girlfriend, back off. Mind your own business,'' Shinichi shot out with notable venom in his voice at the entire crowd, but at none specifically.

The blond boy's eyebrow rose in curiosity as his eyes locked with Shinichi's for a moment, he opened his mouth wanting to say something but he chose to keep whatever he wanted to say to himself. In turn the raven haired boy glanced at him, as if he's asking _'what's the matter'_. Yet, the blond responded with a simple shake of the head and walked away from the scene with the the raven haired boy trailing behind him.

The rest of the crowd of students soon dispersed reluctantly and with loads of gossiping to boot, Shinichi stared down the others who dared to stay. However, two girl remained anchored to their position. Shinichi recognized them immediately as..

''Tachikawa! Suzuki!'' A hint of surprise was evident in his voice, so much so that Satomi started to peek through her dainty fingers to see what the fuss is about.

''Yo Izumi-kun, Satomi-chan!'' Yuko smiled as she gave a short wave of the hand and Akiho followed with her hands hidden behind her head, ''You arrived just in time, Kamii U is about to announce the results of the entrance exam.''

Satomi's hands slide onto the glasses-wearing youth's abdomen in an attempt to steady herself in order to look at her friends, ''Ah! Yuko-chan. Help me, Shinichi won't let me go.''

Shinichi lowered his eyelids and stared at her once this time with a little more agitation. Yuko laughs nervously in response to the scene before her, but Akiho smirked deviously.

''Ya, I see you've caught yourself a mighty fine catch, Shin-Shin,'' Akiho sated mischievously as she poked Shinichi's side with her elbow.

This time Shinichi's eyebrow rose in confusion, Satomi simply laughs and Yuko grimaces at the sheer cheesiness of it all.

'_Shin-Shin?'_

''Shin-Shin?'' Shinichi whirls his head back and forth in dismay before slowly shifting his index finger to his face, ''Are you talking to me?''

Akiho's eyebrows knitted together almost instantaneously with that remark, her finger rose in front her face and it twitches; presumably in agitation. She opens her mouth to speak but, raises her jaws right back on each other with a loud _'clack'_. She then proceeds to flicks his forehead, expecting Shinichi to flinch.

He however, stared back at her in a deadpan fashion, as if she didn't even mattered.

''Ah, Tch.. Stupid Izumi. Couldn't you just ask: 'Hi, Akiho-chan. How are you? Oh great, you look fabulous','' The girl puffed out her cheeks before sighing vehemently.

Shinichi looked at Satomi, who glanced back to him with a risen brow. His gaze then turns to Yuko, who seemed speechless at the moment, her eyes are obstinately focusing on the gravel near her feet. The silence went on for a while..

''Ha.. Haha..'' Shinichi laughs awkwardly as he rubs the back off his head with one hand while the other rested on his hip, wait a second..

''Wha?!'' A startled yelps cuts through the air and the sound of something hitting the concrete was _very_ audible.

'_Oops..'_

The fallen body reaches out towards the skies in joy, ''I'm free!''

''Haha, right.'' Yuko agreed, as bead of sweat rolls off of her cheek.

Shinichi examined his two friends before him meticulously. Akiho had let her medium-length chestnut hair flow freely behind her back, her main fringe was divided into two parts tat obscured her forehead for the most part, she also wore a short denim-like vest with a provocative blood colored sundress with matching heels and lipstick which served to bring out her freckles and light brown eyes even more than usual.

''I think you look wonderful today, Suzuki,'' Shinichi admitted honestly with a warm smile.

The girl got flustered at the boy's compliment, she bit on her lower lip and stayed quiet. Something that contradicts her earlier energy, Satomi however, passed Shinichi a nice stink eye from her rock-bottom position. Luckily for him he didn't notice it.

His eyes then pass to Yuko, her appearance was a little more.. Formal than Akiho's appearance. She still wore her trademark red-rimmed glasses but her hair grew a bit, it was now a bit over shoulder-length. She wore white dress shirt accompanied with a formal black blazer and long black pleated skirt, topped with black elegant heels.

''I have to say though Yuko-chan, you look all business-like and serious, it looks great on you.'' Satomi stated, whilst groggily trying to stand up straight again.

''Thank you,'' She stated with a large, toothy smile and puffing out her chest a little more in pride, while patting it simultaneously.

''Oh..! Uh.. Sorry, about dropping you.'' Shinichi said sheepishly, lowering his head in embarrassment.

''It's okay, don't worry about it.'' Satomi said aloofly, whilst brushing the dirt off of her pink cardigan and gray jeans.

''Shall we go inside then?'' Yuko suggested, while leading the other two girls onto Kamii University's campus.

''Uh.. Yeah..'' Ahiko proceeded to stride far in front of her three other friends for some particular reason.

As Shinichi stepped forwards his eyes caught the engraving on the school's wall.

_Kamii University: Where the only limit is the destination of your dreams._

_'I hope Satomi's dream may come to fruition here.'  
_

* * *

**!Scene Break!  
**

* * *

Satomi's heart was beating rapidly as she proceeded to squirm her way through the immense crowd that confined themselves in such a small lobby, it would be impressive that so many people can be packed in such a small spot if she didn't loose track of everyone around her. She never really liked jam-packed spaces, to her it felt all warm and clammy.

Akiho quickly lunged at the crowd and she hasn't been seen ever since, Yuko was pushed aside by a tall adolescent who wore glasses and promptly lost herself among the dense crowd. Shinichi chose to coerce his way through the plethora of people, but he went ahead too fast and forgot that Satomi couldn't squeeze herself through the crowd much like he did.

The maroon haired girl was two steps away from abandoning all hope of ever getting to the bulletin board across the hall, till she felt something warm brush her hand. Her thoughts shot into overdrive, her face went pale and her body stiffened as more _warm_ things started caress her body, from her thighs and gradually ascending in position.

_'A.. A molester?!'_

She yelped instinctively as she shook her body wildly in order to keep the _things _to a distance, most of the eyes in the crowd turned to her for a moment and a wave of embarrassment hits her, she promptly shook that embarrassment off of her and continued to push herself through the crowd, hopefully avoiding the _things_ surrounding her.

''Ow!'' Against her will she bumps into someone's back, the person turned to to meet Satomi eye to eye - except they didn't in litteral sense, since Satomi was at least a foot shorter than the young man before her.

She bit on her lips as she frowned apologetically, ''Uh.. Sorry.''

The black-haired young man's brow rose in a fit of apparent confusion, it dies down almost immediately though and gives a warm, comforting smile to Satomi, ''You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost.''

_'Huh? What?'_

It was then that noticed that she was hugging her own body with her arms, fingernails deeply planted within the fabric of her pink cardigan. She reflexively relaxes and glances over her shoulder. Yet, none.. Or nothing suspicious was showcased within her vision and she promptly takes a deep breath.

''Uh.. Miss, you okay?'' The black haired young man asked once again with worry apparent on his features

''Oh.. Uh.. Yes!'' She lips slightly twitch into a sullen smile, ''I'm alright, thanks for asking.''

''I suppose you want to see the bulletin too, I'll scoot of your way then.'' The boy said in a polite fashion.

''Ah! That would be great, uh..'' She pauses as she doesn't know the individuals name.

''Urou. Urou Masato, is the name.'' The boy explained with a simple nod of the head, his warm smile still plastered onto his face.

''Murano Satomi,'' She was about to extend her hand, till a person bumped against her forcing her against Urou, she quickly restores the lost balance and continues her sentence, ''I hope you too made it into Kamii U.''

He smiled wry, ''Yeah, I was accepted. Still I'm not one of the best, that right seems to be reserved for a person named Nishino. A full 100% Score, man I'm envious,'' Urou mumbled absentmindedly.

_'Uh..'_

''Oh right? You wanted to see for yourself whether you made it or not, sorry for holding you up. I'm pretty sure I saw your name _somewhere_,'' His warm smile spreaded a little further after his last words left his lips, ''I wish you the best of luck, Murano-san.''

After bidding farewell with a simple wave of the hand, Urou guided the girl to the bulletin board and left as soon as the girl's eyes were focused on the lettering centered on the large sheet of paper that was placed on the wall. Loads of names blot out the paper, with numbers placed in front of them. Most likely to rank the people in comparison to the others through their exam scores.

Satomi's eyes narrow as she meticulously examined the sheet in front of her, true to Masato's words there was a student named Nishino who did indeed ranked as the number one out of all the exam participants, most of the names on the list were unfamiliar to her, except...

The girl's eyes twinkle as a slight glee gradually manifested on her lips.

* * *

**Kamii University**

_Admission Results 20XX/20XX Academic Session_

_The following 100 candidates have been granted admission within Kamii University._

_1\. Nishino Kimi [Score: 100%]  
_

_2\. Urou Masato [Score: 98%]_

_3\. Kitamura Yusaku [Score: 97%]_

**_..._**

_5\. Tachikawa Yuko [Score: 95%]_

**_..._**

_16\. Nishiki Nishio [Score: 79%]  
_

**_..._**

_19\. Mitsuzuri Ayako [Score: 75%]_

_20\. Murano Satomi [Score: 74%]_

_21\. Otonashi Yuzuru [Score: 74%]_

**_..._**

_33\. Mitsuzuri Minori [69%]_

**_..._**

_55\. Suzuki Akiho [Score: 66%]_

**_..._**

_99\. Chizu Joui [Score: 50%]_

_100\. Daiko Nagayo [Score: 50%]  
_

* * *

_'I MADE IT!' _

The sheer amount of euphoria welted her from an unexpected angle and quickly took the girl by storm. Her glee transformed to a large tooth-filled smile. Her joy was overwhelming and she was fighting back the urge to release tears of happiness for finally making a huge step towards her own dream.

Until someone bumped her out of her euphoria.

''Oi, woman. Watch where your going!'' A tall gruff-sounding adolescent glared at Satomi as he forces his way past her to the board, nearly knocking her off her feet.

The girl's forehead shaped in one giant wrinkle, she was ready to give the rude young man a piece of her mind, until she noted that his face was growing increasingly more infuriating. Following his line of sight Satomi could infer why. The adolescent's eyes tracked every single inch of the board, even double checking spots he passed before. It didn't take long for his eyes to nearly burst out its sockets from anger. He cuts through the crowd pushing aside people as he goes.

''Oh boy.. Someone's not happy with the fact he didn't make it on the list,'' Satomi chided, she realized that during the search for her name she abandoned the search the names of her friends and Shinichi, ''Oh right! I'm just gonna check the board and find all them, easy peasy.''

Proceeding to check the all the names on the board the girl sought to find her friends, and hoped dearly that they would become her future classmates.

_'Oh.. Urou was the second best. Yuko, 5th spot. _Typical_. Akiho, 55th spot. Wow she did way better than I thought.. Now, Shinichi..'_

Satomi's slender fingers effortlessly glided over the names that were presented, but no matter how many times she went over the displayed names, Shinichi's was not among the chosen ones. Her lips crooked and brows crooked in sadness as she stood motionlessly before the board, her hands curled into fists. The maiden now had a choice pressed against her; stay at Kamii U, follow her dreams and leave Shinichi alone or stay, and abandon the school she dreamed of.

Murano Satomi stood at an impasse.

* * *

**!Scene Break!**

* * *

Suzuki Akiho sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose between her finger, ''So.. Kaneki was it? You're saying that if your cousin finds you right now he'll-''

''-Beat the snot out of him, yes.'' The dirty blond youth, Nagachika Hideyoshi stated with droopy eyes.

Tachikawa Yuko tilted her head to the side as she murmured in contemplation, ''Not to sound rude, but why even bother coming here in the first place then?''

The blond seated his body on the stairs just beside his companion, Kaneki. He caved, threw his body against the uncomfortable shaped staircase and ruffled his hair without too much care in the world, yet his face was dire and tense. A complete overhaul from his earlier lightness, whatever bothered him; it bothered him greatly, Akiho concluded.

Kaneki rose his head to meet Akiho and Yuko's faces and spoke soft and weakly, ''I was supposed to to check if he made in Kamii University, but he wasn't accepted,'' The high schooler stumbled on his words as he plastered a fake smile on his lips, ''Since I didn't call him to confirm that he made it.. He's going to come here and-''

''-Beat the snot out of him, just like he usually does..'' Hideyoshi spat, direness still consuming his face.

Akiho gasped as she puts two and two together finally, ''Oh, oh.. _Oh..._'' Her face visibly faded in its usual happiness and descended to a more serious expression.

Akiho then blinked, ''He?''

Hideyoshi lips compressed, ''Asaoka Yuichi, Kaneki's elder cousin.''

Akiho's mouth shaped into a large 'O', when she connected the dots, ''Yes.. You said something like that.''

Yuko's brows knitted together as she bit her lips, ''Wait? Why are you here then, Nagachika-san? And why even bother telling us all of this?''

''It's because I'm scared to face him _alone_ again,'' Kaneki responded in his place.

''Besides.. What reason would I need to help out a friend.. No, my _best_ friend,'' The youthful boy shot a smirk at his childhood friend, earning a small smile and a nod in return.

Akiho smiled as her eyes instinctively track her very own best friend, Yuko. The two of them went through so much ventures. She wouldn't trade Yuko for the world, no matter how much was at stake for her. The girl unleashed a heartfelt laugh as memories of older times whiz past her, like when she first met Satomi and she was convinced that the girl was stealing away her dear friend. Akiho knew how much a friend meant to her and instantaneously connected to Hideyoshi's feelings of wanting to protect Kaneki.

''As for why I bothered.. I dunno,'' The boy shrugged, ''I figured that since the two if you helped us get through the crowd, you couldn't be bad people. I have a good nose for that type of thing,'' He stuck his nose up in the air in a haughty and confident manner, relaxing his hand on his friend's shoulder.

''Aren't you the most adorable thing around?'' She teased, as she moved to the boy and clenched his nose between her fingers.

''Aaugh! Stop that, lady! I take it back you're a mean old hag!'' Hideyoshi wined he flailed around, accidentally smacking his companion square in the face.

Akiho's forehead veins twitched in that moment, she compressed her fingers together. Eliciting more yelps from the blond boy and more laughs from Kaneki and Yuko. The four them continued to their playful banter for minutes, till the sudden sound of lighting allows Hideyoshi to escape Akiho's pincer attack.

There was a moment of silence on the stairwell and afterwards all the color on Akiho's face drained immediately. Yuko massaged her forehead as she approached her friend, ''Don't worry, the chance of getting struck by lighting is one in seven hundred thousand. Not even you are _that_ unlucky, Akiho.''

As if on cue a flash of light illuminated the stairwell and Akiho grew as pale as a ghost. The sound of electricity rushing to the ground was very audible not even moments later the rain started pelting the windows of Kamii University. A wave nausea flooded Akiho and a unsanitary burp escaped her lips, her cheeks swell as her eyes widen in agonizing fear.

''Oh god, _oh god_..''

''Hell no! Not on me!'' Yuko dashed from her side to the other corner of the stairwell, nearly hugging the opposite wall in the process.

Akiho leapt down the stairs with a single leap, she nearly stumbled as she landed. She cuts the following corner sharply and descends downwards in a hurry. Kaneki looked on as Akiho disappeared from his field of vision. He looked on to Hideyoshi who simply laughed awkwardly at the scene before him, Kaneki himself couldn't stifle his own confusion at the scene before him.

''Is she always like this?'' Kaneki Ken asked with a smile.

Yuko chuckled as she met his gentle gaze, ''Yeap, every _single_ day.''

* * *

**!Scene Break!**

* * *

The sharp accent of lightning rushed through the corridor as Satomi frantically explored every corner around her. She had been at it for many minutes, but she hasn't found even a single trace of her overly contrasting group of friends. If only she had a solid way of locating her friends in this humongous school building..

''Oh.. Wait!'' Satomi stopped dead in her tracks as she planted the palm of her hand firmly on her forehead.

Her hands dug into her pockets and within moments she produced a pink rectangular device, with a firm flick of the wrist the top half of the rectangle shot open; revealing a number of gray buttons and a small screen. The screen depicted Shinichi singing his heart out on a karaoke party, on the background she could see herself smiling from ear to ear as her fingers made for make-shift bunny ears on his head.

The screensaver made the girl smile for a bit, before she speeddailed her boyfriends number. The phone rung for a tad and..

''Hi, Izumi Shinichi here-'' The raspy, youthful voice boomed through Satomi's phone speakers.

''Shinichi, hi. Uh.. Where are you? Are you with Akiho and Yuko?''

''-I'm currently not around, so leave any important message behind after the beep, okay?''

_**Beep!**_

''Of course.. _Of course_.._ Figures.._'' Her voice was irritable, Satomi didn't waste a single moment to hang up on the automated voice message.

The girl's cheeks swelled in vexation, ''You never pick up when I actually need you,'' Hastily, Satomi searched for the next number on her to-call list, Suzuki Akiho. A burst of lighting outside illuminated the room as she dialed her number and let it rung..

_Once.._

_Twice.._

_**THUD!**_

...

_**Ring!-Ring!-Ring!**_

Satomi hastily removed her phone from her ear, the sound of Akiho's ringtone immediately rushed in her ears just after a large crash happened just nearby. The maiden hastily pocketed her cellular device and power walked right towards the origin of the sound. As her pacing grew in intensity so did the unpleasant tone of yelling. A sense of dread welled up inside her belly, but Satomi exhaled the tension out of her system the best she could.

''You _Bitch_! You barfed all over me!'' A voice roared, one could hear the sheer tremble in his bass-like voice.

As Satomi started to scale the stairs, the faint murmurs of a girl caught her attention. She hoped that this girl in question wasn't the person she thought she was. However a mop of glowing brown hair showed her otherwise.

''Akiho?'' Satomi questioned whilst her rushed pacing finally grinds to a solid halt.

Much to her dismay, she spied that familiar mop of glowing brown sprawled atop of a tall, muscular adolescent. Akiho looked worse for wear with her sickly, pale skin and her dazed eyes swimming all around her eye sockets. Satomi felt a twinge of pity for her as she gradually dismounted off of the adolescent, that was until she smelled the abhorring scent of half-digested food and spoiled milk, the maiden pinched her nose shut in disgust and squints her her eyes at her friend, silently scolding her lack of proper behavior.

The adolescent however was seething in sheer, unadulterated rage. If his eye-popping glare could kill, Akiho would be disemboweled by the ferocity of anger that he radiated, his veiny eyes kept looking back at the sickly girl who meagerly tried to mumble her honest apologies and the greenish-yellowy fluids that she regurgitated on his shirt and was currently seeping through that thin layer of cloth.

It was in that moment that Murano Satomi realized that this youth wasn't some passerby soon-to-be-student, no. It was the same aggressive young man she met earlier, in the instant her eyes widened in awareness, it was _already too late_..

The young man rushed to his feet, his hand shot out towards Akiho and latched onto her neck with all the force of a pincer. Akiho's eyes reeled in fear, she reflexively dug her nails into his palm, but the adolescent didn't hold back any force. Akiho couldn't help but to cough and gag under the sudden force that her throat was enduring. With the speed of a trained athlete the young man slammed her body against the safety railing on the stairwell, pushing her neck over the edge of railing and made her body unable to gain any leverage to fight against the hot grip on her neck.

Akiho coughed and sputtered as her legs flailed in midair, desperately trying to prevent herself from falling down to the stairwell and by extension to her death. Her emotions began to pool over as her face began to redden and saliva began to encroach her face, tears streamed out of her eyes and she tried to scream, but with every noise she tried to make, she found the hands only gripping tighter and the force that was exerted only growing stronger. If this kept up, she would die. And she knew that all too well..

It took Satomi two whole seconds to get a grip on herself to unfreeze from the sudden scenario that played out before her. As she prepared her body to charge in and defend her friend, fear began to burst in her mind as her eyes drifted to the aggressive young lad, they were lacking light, and only radiated overwhelming discontent to life itself, a gaze she clearly linked to the scariest person she ever met in her entire life..

_Aragami Kabuto_..

''No.. No.. Get your your filthy paws off of Akiho!'' Satomi yelled atop of her lungs as rushed at the aggressive assailant.

She raked her nails through the adolescents face, he recoiled in pain as a thin line of red dripped down his cheek but he simply refused to stop suffocating Akiho. It was almost as if his hand had a mind of its own and simply abhorred the thought of letting her go.

''ASAOKA!'' A new voice barked.

Turning her head to the source of the sound she saw pair of bright yellow sneaker driving deeply into Asaoka's abdomen sending him flying into Satomi. As the girl clattered to the ground she could only watch in horror as Akiho was slowly taken away by gravity itself. The dirty blond young boy watched with widening eyes as he saw what his action led to.

As if to mock the sickly girl who was plummeting to the ground, lighting roared one _final_ time..

* * *

**!Scene Break!**

* * *

_'I'm going to die..'_

_'I'm going to die, I'm going to die..'_

_'I'm dying, I'm gonna die..'_

Like a hypnotic mantra, Akiho Suzuki whispered these words in her mind, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her throat and lungs burned with the intake of air at long last, as she took pleasure in breathing once more, all her worries and fears began to fade away. It was as if dopamine was shot through her entire system in once microsecond. Happy memories drifted in her retinas, it became the only thing she could see as air rushed past body. Her stomach churned with the sudden G forces that were being applied on it.

Yet, she felt at ease as she watched her own precious memories whisk by at the speed of sound. The intake of memories finally stopped as she recalls how Shinichi carried Satomi to the gate of Kamii Univeristy.

''Ha... Haa... Ha..'' She tried to laugh, but only faint inhuman croaks escaped her lips.

_'If only.. If only.. That could have been..'_

Her throat burned once more as cool air tries to force itself through her bruised windpipe, it wasn't a unpleasant pain. It's like the tiredness she feels after a good workout, or after hurting you head by cramming so much information in it for a test. It was a necessary pain, a pain that stifles as a roadblock between her and her goal.

''M.. e..''

She smiled as she could feel herself rush to the ground. The last thing she felt was the rushing air stopping abruptly..


	7. It's The Right Time

**Author_ Notes_**

_This chapter has been co-written to some extent by Kazuma, thanks to him first scene of this chapter is as enjoyable in dialogue as it is. I might need to brush up my own skills very soon, Kazuma made me feel quite inadequate when I first laid eyes upon his work. Give the guy some props, he definitely deserves the love.  
_

_So yeah, the actual start of one of the main plots of this fanfic, we're finally here! Took me long enough, didn't it? I traipsed quite a lot around canon for the past six chapters. I do hope all of you enjoyed the view of Shinichi's ***Tragic*** life post-Parasyte, since were heading for familiar territory for Tokyo Ghoul enthusiasts (though not this very chapter)._

_To apologize for the unexpected summer hiatus for this story I persent you a chapter that's not 5k words, but a whopping 10k+ words. Enjoy the extra reading material._

_I have so much planned, but even all that isn't enough to satiate my lust for this story. This story simply overflows within possibilities regarding character interactions all the way the mechanics of Ghouls and Parasites in itself. Oh and anime references, they are packed within this chapter too, so be wary fellow (wo)men. Keep your eyes open for them, if a person is able to name them all.. Then you sir/madam deserved a chocolate chipped cookie.  
_

_Just one more thing, I forgot to mention what the new chapter breaks entailed so I'll explain them here and now._

* * *

**!Scene Break!**

* * *

** Switching Protagonist Perspectives/Departing from reality to something more abstract (Hallucinations, Dream, Flashbacks. Etc).  
**

* * *

**... **

* * *

** Passage Of Time/Minor Time Skip (Usually hours or days, sometimes weeks or months, only relevant when nothing extraordinary happens)**

* * *

_I wish every single one of you, the best of reading pleasure.  
_

_(Seriously though, you guys might wanna review from time to time.. I _don't_ bite, every bit of criticism is appreciated, yes even negative ones as well.)_

* * *

**_[Second Arc - Hunting White God]_**

_[Chapter 6 - It's The Right Time]_

* * *

_**8:45 PM  
Izumi Household, 2nd ward**_

"Commission of Counter Ghoul Bureau..." Shinichi muttered, as he focused his gaze to the floor, thinking about the Yamita incident event.

"So why do you want me to join you?" He asked, a hint of coldness appeared in his voice as his eyes narrowed at his guests.

"To help you of course," Houji replied, as he took an apple from the fruit bowl.

"Help me?..." Shinichi eyes traced the apple, his brow twitched.

"..To avenge your girlfriend, isn't that you want?" Houji bit into the apple with an audible _'crunch'_.

For split second, Shinichi was simply appalled by the man's gall to mention Satomi. It made his blood boil, but despite the fact that he felt like slugging Houji in the face, his facade remained as collected as ever. He breathed deeply and gave the most polite answer his brain could rack up.

"With all due respect, Houji-san. I'm incapable of protecting people, so why choose me of all stronger, better, more well-suited individuals out there," The youth said with downcast eyes, a hint of whiteness in his face.

"Don't say that Izumi-san! You're very capable and you fit the criteria just fine!" the woman half-shouted with all unwarranted vigor in the world.

Houji stealthily scooted away from his underling in order to spare his ears from the racket. He cleared his throat and returned his sharpened gaze to Shinichi, after glaring to the woman at his side.

"..Like she _yelled_. We read your records from the governmental database and it happens to be that you excel at P.E, topping the charts, and lets not forget how you participated in the military raid to wipe the remaining Parasites out," Houji added, as he finished eating the apple.

The boy's boiling blood went cold almost instantaneously, the mentioning of Parasytes was already unnerving on it's own. However the fact that strangers knew of his involvement with the raid, made his skin crawl. He felt that he needed to pick his words _very_ carefully.

"How do you know of this?" Shinichi's voice was cautious, but inside his mind a storm of uncertainty dwelt.

"My, my. You're quite slow on the uptake aren't you?" The woman expressed with her chin at higher angle than before.

She produced a black tablet from her side, slid it across the table so that Shinichi could validate the info for himself. Sure enough, pictures of the covert military raid were in full display in all its glory, and all of its _horror_.

"Everything that the law enforcement knows is something that the CCG knows." Houji responded curtly, his expression frozen in boredom.

"So what will my role be?" He asked, as he returned the tablet to the subordinate.

"It deals mainly with.. shadowy activities. Like investigating ghouls like you saw during the Yamita Incident and mayhap even eliminating them here and there," Houji's eyes grew colder, while his voice remained neutral and indifferent as if he was selling common household products.

"Eliminating Ghouls..? I see.." His gaze met the ground once more.

"Our organization targets Ghouls, and that benefits our city, and by extension the country. Like for example if a Ghoul hideout is found which that possesses a threat to the innocent people nearby, we eliminate the Ghouls there. It's quite simple really," Stated female subordinate in a matter of fact like way.

Shinichi stared at them incredulously. Silently affirming that they were completely crazy in the head, since they actually believed that they; ordinary humans. Stood even an iota of a chance against ghouls. He'd ridicule them for their stupidity if they weren't so well informed about him.

_'What a joke..'_

Apparently his disdain must have showcased on his face as the subordinate started to scowl at him, Shinichi blinked acting as if nothing was going on at all.

"What? You still think you still not up to the task, despite everything?" The woman adjusted her glasses and gave a rather deep sigh.

"You are practically overflowing with potential, think about it _Izumi Shinichi-kun_," Houji said as he took another apple from the table without asking.

Shinichi's brow twitched again, whilst his mind explored the possibilities. His face contorted in a variety of expressions before he finally settled on his answer.

"Well, sorry, but I'm not interes-"

"-We can get you information on your girlfriend's death, we know the person who did it!" The subordinate half shouted.

His body froze instantaneously, cold sweat ran down his torso. This was the last thing he ever expected to hear. his thoughts quickly went haywire at the possibilities presented to him.

_'Can.. she really get me info on Satomi's death? Is she serious?'_

"But, we will _only_ share this information after we see to it that you joined our ranks as a proper investigator. Oh, and don't even think about deserting the CCG once you have the info you need, we're going to have to call upon our Espers to erase your memories and install fake ones, if you force our hand... We can't have you telling our secrets, now can we?" Houji spoke with a blank face that showed no care, as he plainly said something completely absurd.

"Espers? Are you even remotely serious, Houji-san?" Shinichi asked with skepticism.

Houji showcased a dangerous smirk, a smirk condensed with ample killing intent, enough to make the youth's spine shiver in fleshy sheath, "Either that, or you'll be blacklisted by every law enforcement agency branch on the globe, and _if_-'' Houji paused to squint his eyes, ''_When_ you're caught, they'll either punish you by death in their own court or deliver you back to us and you will be incarcerated for the rest of your life, or even worse.."

And just like that he demeanor shifted to a more expressionless one, ''Would that be more to your.. _wishes_?''

Even the subordinate was silently urging Shinichi not to perform such a dangerous thanatos gambit. He didn't need her warnings, Izumi Shinichi already blacklisted the man known as Houji Kousuke in his mind. If he ever were to know that Shinichi was a non-human himself, it would be a horrible time for him.

"I wouldn't even think of deserting anything," Shinichi returned a death glare of his own. His mind presented him the possibility of forgetting Satomi's death, but as quickly as that thought formed, he pushed it away.

"Good to hear that, But I'll still have to validate it for myself, I do hope you understand _Izumi Shinichi-kun_, " Houji said with a fake smile plastered on his features.

Shinichi thought about it for a while. Was it really worth it, going through it all again? _Fighting_..._ Murder_.. Would it be truly worth it for some information on what happened to his Satomi? All of his work to be a normal person would be rendered moot if he accepted. It would be like signing his soul to the _devil_, a terribly well-dressed, emotionless devil, named Houji Kousuke.

"Wait.. What else do you know about me?"

The subordinate started pressing some buttons in her tablet. She brought up a text file and read it out loud, "Birth name, Izumi Shinichi. Born on the 3rd of May. Your first language is Japanese, and you know an above average amount of English. You have written 17 fan fiction stories spread over 4 different sites, most notably Fanfiction dot net. You are an avid fan of Takatsuki Sen, owning at least 3 of her books. You once had a Koi fish, but it died. 14% of your socks are white, while the remaining 86% is black. You are one of the survivors of both Shimada Hideo mass murders and the Mr. A serial murders. Your height is 160cm. Oh, and your favourite sexual feti-"

"OKAY LET'S SKIP THAT ONE!" Shinichi faced turned as red as an tomato, as he interrupted her, his fists involuntarily pressing against the Kotatsu.

The subordinate displayed a grin that could rival the Cheshire cat, while Houji mere chuckled dryly as he peeked at the tablet.

"Wait!... How did you..?!"

"We have our ways," Houji said with his usual bored tone.

''You might consider us the NASA of Japan, if you may.'' The woman added with a grin.

There was another awkward silence between the three. The female subordinate kept clucking her tongue in her mouth, conveying that their task at hand was at an end. For _now_..

"Okay.. so you get the picture. we need you in our organization," The female subordinate stated as she removed the tablet from everyone's sight.

"..I'll have to think about it for a while," Shinichi stated, looking at the apples still left in the fruit bowl.

"Understandable. I'll provide with you two days, _tops_," Houji voiced as he stood up and headed for the front door along with his subordinate.

The auburn haired woman gave the boy one final look over, an action that caused him to raise his eyebrow in confusion. Only doubts and fears raced through his mind, if this Counter Ghoul Organization ever finds out about his parasitic abilities he'd have one hell of enemy to fight against, it's a possibility that frightened him to no end. Perhaps joining them could make for a solid way to keep himself under the rugs.

Houji opened the door, and his subordinate disappeared in setting sunlight that obscured Shinichi's vision, he rose his hand to protect his exposed and vulnerable eyes against the rays.

"Ask your father to forward you my number, so you can relay your answer in two days. Don't worry, it's a secure line,"

Shinichi nodded, his thoughts occupied a different space, too much went down for him too fast today.

"I guess I'll be on my way then. I'll hear from you, _Izumi Shinichi-kun_," Said the man, with a slight smile.

It was only now that Shinichi realized that Houji kept using his full name when he addressed him during conversation. The weird thing was that even though they never met before Houji almost spoke to him with familiarity. Perhaps it's just his imagination, after all he hasn't spoken to anyone but to his father for a while now.

The door closed soundlessly, and the boy didn't budge from his spot in the living room. His mind was muddled with thoughts about the boons and the risks of their proposal. If he were to accept the offer, his life would change forever. But if he didn't, he would be forced to live the rest of his life not knowing who killed Satomi. Was that really something he could live with?

_'Live and be happy, huh? Easy for you to say..'_

His head was spinning, so he decided to think about it the next day after taking a long, hot bath and diving into his warm bedsheets as soon as possible.

* * *

**!Scene Break!  
**

* * *

_**9:27 PM  
CCG HQ, 1st ward**_

"So, what about Izumi Shinichi?" The auburn haired subordinate voiced in a curious tone, as she and Houji stepped within the CCG building, she narrowly avoided a collision with another CCG employee as a flood of them made their way to the exit.

"What about him?" Houji voiced bluntly as he deftly avoids the crowd of departing CCG employees.

"You're not gonna let such a promising prospect go, are you?" Her brow rose in anticipation for the Associate Special Class's answer.

"You do know that it still his choice to make," The man stated coldly as he pushed himself further into the crowd, much to the displeasure of his fellow co-workers.

"As if you actually care.. I can still remember how you coerced me into the AGB," The woman replied with a heavy expression on her features.

"You, unlike him. Needed that push to set you back on the right track," Houji said hard and cold as he looked her straight in the eyes.

Her expression remained as still lips, the woman once more narrowly dodged someone rapidly approaching her, whilst Houji swerved through the crowd with ease, making rapid progress to his destination, the main elevator.

"You're dismissed for today, go to your new housing. Regardless whether Izumi Shinichi accepts our proposition or not, you still have lots of work cut out for you."

The woman nodded, briefly breaking her icy expression, ''What about you? Work's already done.''

''I still have some rapports on Izumi Shinichi to write,'' He pressed the button in order to call the elevator, ''Besides, this isn't some simple nine till five kind of job.''

''Copy that, bossman.''

Her eyes then lit up akin to a flambeau as she saw familiar faces progressing through the crowd of CCG workers. She waved at them, but they didn't respond to her greetings and in turn she took a directer approach.

"Takizawa! Amon! Hey, Wait up!" The titian haired woman immediately disregarded her superior to catch up to her associates, leaving him alone by the open elevator.

Houji stepped inside and pressed the button in the elevator for one of the many the upper floors. He took out his cell phone and dialed a number. Of course, he was using a secure line to prevent any phone call interceptions. It didn't have to ring once before he got connected through, he spoke into the phone with a hushed voice.

"Izumi Shinichi is having his doubts."

...

''Heard. Understood. Acknowledged."

Houji hung up the phone and let out a deep sigh as the elevator kept ascending higher and higher.

"I'm getting too old for this _shit_.." He spat, as he massaged his forehead.

* * *

**!Scene Break!**

* * *

_**10:30 PM  
Izumi Household, 2nd ward**_

"It's no use," Shinichi mumbled as he kept tossing and turning in his bedsheets.

His thoughts kept wandering every time he closed his eyes. Houji's proposition to him drove him to the point of restlessness. On one hand he wanted to accept simply for the pursuit of answers and to satiate the overwhelming negativity inside him. On the other hand his own morals, fears and his mother-in-law's words prevented him to answer directly to the proposition.

"Aaargh!" Shinichi tried to smother himself beneath his pillow, hoping that lack of oxygen could allow for some ideas to pop into existence.

_'Maybe some fresh air would do me some good.'_

Shinichi quickly threw the sheets off of his body and hastily threw on some sandals, sweatpants and a short sleeved shirt with _'Equivalent exchange'_ emblazoned on it.

As he proceeded to close the door behind him, he spotted a white scarf lying by its lonesome on his desk. The youth smiled wryly before closing the door behind him.

He hastily bolted down the stairs and made his way to the living room to get his keys, when he spotted his father seated by the kotatsu, enjoying a can of beer, silently watching another episode of The Crawling Zombie, an American zombie series that he often watches.

"You're home already? I thought you'd be out for much longer like usual."

The older man nearly choked on his beer, "Jeez, stop scaring this fragile old man, man."

Shinichi grinned, "So what's with the sudden thing you needed to do?"

"Office called me up on some some old administrative stuff, they complained about me messing up some numbers.." Kazuyuki threw up the bottom of his beer can, his noisy gulping filled the air around the living room, "But, I showed them.. I may be an old ape, but I ain't no green weed idiot."

"Nah, you're just a big oaf who loves to drink," Shinichi voiced with notable snark accompanied with a glee.

"Says the lazy, modern life hermit. You're two score too young to beat this old man at snark-to-snark combat, my boy," Kazuyuki said, as he took the final apple in the fruit bowl and took bite out it.

Kazuyuki's eyes then fixated back onto the television again, just in time to catch an Asian man get torn to shreds by a horde of gnarly looking humanoids. It made Shinichi wonder how his dad could easily stand such strong gore.

"Could you get me some melon bread for me at Fu's?" Kazuyuki waved around a thousand yen bill between his fingers, his eyes objecting to forfeit the action on screen.

Shinichi walked up to him and seized the bill from his dad's fingers, "Forgot the melon bread again? You're one hopeless man, sometimes."

"Oh hush up, it isn't as if you make any money at all. Besides, you wanted to go outside anyway, you could at least do your hardworking old man a favor from time to time."

"Do I even have a choice in the matter?" Shinichi shrugged his shoulders, and slowly paced his way out of the living room.

"No you don't chalk it up on tyranny, or whatever you youths blame your parents for these days."

Shinichi was about to exit the living room until he easily caught something flying at him. A card of some sort, he pocketed the business card in his sweatpants.

"Its that private eye's business card or something. You might wanna take that job they offered you, it might finally bring some extra cash in the house," Kazuyuki muttered as he focused on the TV again, chomping loudly on the apple in his hand.

"If only you knew what it meant, dad," Shinichi whispered to himself as he made his way to the door.

Shinichi barely managed to close the door before his dad dashed through the hallway, nearly pushing over a vase in the process. His expression was twisted into rage.

"Stop eating my apples, ya darn punk!" Kazuyuki yelled as he threw the remains of his final apple at Shinichi's head.

Shinichi thanked the gods for his superhuman reflexes and proceeded to speed off towards the bread store with post haste.

"It wasn't me this time! Why do you-"

* * *

**!Scene Break!**

* * *

_**11:25 PM**_  
_**CCG HQ, 1st ward**_

"-Keep blaming me?" The associate special class sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Well, subordinates do take after their superiors," Mado Kureo snickered mischievously, as he gave his former subordinate a look over with his non-bulging eye.

"Heh.. That makes you part of the ingrained problem, you know," Houji retorted as he continued to make his way through the CCG hallways.

"Don't pin the blame on me, regarding that Chinese wench you picked up. Do realize that I pick my subordinates with care, nor do I bargain with anarchy-worshiping criminals," Mado straightened his posture to properly gaze at the large man beside him, "After all, look at how you turned out."

Houji couldn't manage to suppress the smirk on his lips, Mado had a way with words that made each and every one of his subordinate respect him tenfold. However that joy was as short as a flicker of light since Mado's words carried a strong stigma.

"Do realize that I pick my subordinates with _care_, Mado-san," Houji cleverly retorted to spite his former superior and mentor.

The comment didn't penetrate Mado's calm yet unpredictable air, one could argue that Mado Kureo became even more uncanny due to the silence he persisted to keep. Houji's face eventually stiffened to it's usual properties.

"Mado-san, we both know that you aren't a fan of this heart-to-heart stuff. What's your business?"

Mado stopped dead in his tracks and it took Houji a moment to realize that his former superior was about to say something.

"We have a _'situation'_ on our hands," His gaze was one of unwavering urgency, Houji could easily ascertain that swift action was needed.

"It's about your subordinate, she lives in the second ward, correct?" Mado asked.

"Affirmative, I sent her to her new housing for now, as since she's still an anomaly within our systems. I plan to-"

"-It's Crusher and Grinder,'' Mado interrupted, ''They manage to writhe their way inside the second ward. Time is of the essence and the wench is the closest thing I have to fend them off before I can arrive on the scene. You know the drill."

Houji immediately reached into his pocket and speed dialed her number.

* * *

**!Scene Break!**

* * *

_**11:18 PM**_  
_**Somewhere on the streets of the Chuuo ward, 2nd ward**_

"So like.." The auburn haired girl hiccuped, "I told that green-weed idiot of an intern to stick that syringe where sun doesn't shine, I'm doing what I want whenever I.."

The woman drifted to the edge of consciousness and back, when she came to she noted a sudden lightness in her right hand, she lets out a groan as she spotted her bottle of distilled alcohol shattered into the tiniest of fragments a few foot back.

"Hey.. Amon, turn around," Another hiccup filled the air, "The rum's gone... Why is the rum gone?" She sniffled and shifted her weight, throwing her pack mule off balance.

"Stay still, you're going home today, no more drinking for you," Amon Koutarou sighed as he found himself stuck with a grown woman who was unable to hold her drinks at all. So he was forced to carry her the way back to her home, after all it would be terribly unjust of him to leave his colleague stranded at the local bar.

''Hey, Amon?''

''Quiet, save your energy. God knows how bad your hangover will be tomorrow morning.''

The girl burps loudly, ''Hehe.. Wanna find out?''

Amon turned his head sharply at the woman, shutting her up simply by the way his eyes pierced the woman's indecent grin. Her cheeks puffed outwards, as she broke the silent interaction by resting her head on his broad back, and soundlessly falling asleep. After confirming that it isn't a manipulative ploy in order to leech off of his sympathy, he resumed walking at a comfortable pace.

He lamented on how he got stuck in this situation, one moment him, Takizawa and her were drinking and having a good time. Yet, after what he could describe was a singular moment, Takizawa was picking fights in his drunken state and Houji's subordinate was completely wasted and was emptying her stomach all over the place. In the end, he had to forward the manager some money in order to keep quite about the ordeal _and_ cover the expenses they caused.

At least Takizawa wasn't shrewd enough to try to make him pay for a taxi.

He snuck a glance at the snoozing woman, who was quite comfortable with him piggybacking her back to her new home. The crescent shaped moon illuminated her fiery hair, making it secrete an reddish-white glow. Her eye lashes were long and untempered, her eyes were nearly closed shut, but for some reason he eyelids twitched open time and again. Her dark red blazer was a mess, it reeked of alcohol and was messily drooping off of her shoulders, exposing her white alcohol moist blouse and revealing her black bra-

Amon snapped out of his daze, and reprimanded himself for looking at a fellow colleague with such impure thoughts. He peered at the rosary he wore around his neck and asked god to forgive him for his moment of weakness. Then again, whenever he was forced to attend a_ 'drink until you're sick party' _he always found himself bringing someone back to their home. Some part of him was glad that his colleagues were so trusting of him, but another part screamed at him to not get involved too much with anyone at all.

After all, with their line of work they could _die_ at any time..

* * *

**...**

* * *

_**11:21 PM  
**_**The Subordinate's Apartment, 2nd Ward**

The apartment was fancier than he originally expected. He weened that little expenses would be used on the woman, who freshly hopped from her birth land all the way to Japan on a whim, or so he heard. As he gently places her body on the silky couch, he couldn't help but stare at the all the living space she had. Her room was insane in breadth. The walls were stained with the color of light vanilla, and decorated with abstract paintings all over. It had a very western-style interior, complete with a dinner table and balcony completely fashioned from glass. It made him feel quite uneasy knowing that a layer of glass was all that separated him from a five-story drop to his death.

Amon ruffled his hair as stepped back inside the living room and realized that he would probably fit five to six times in the room, if he used his height as a measurement. His mouth completely dropped as walked past a opened door in the room.

''How.. What.. Why?!''

Training equipment, as far as his eyes could see. From treadmills to sandbags, to dumbbells and even a bench press. Whoever manged her housing, he or she made sure that the woman could continue her training with no hindrance. Some of the equipment even show sign of usage, due to heaps of water bottles strewn about near it. Amon smiled, he had his worries when Houji introduced him to her a month ago, she lacks all sorts of tact and self-restraint in casual socialization, but at least she was diligent and serious about her training.

While he whirled on his feet back to the living room, noticed a piece of paper stuck on the front of the door. Amon peeled the note from door and glanced at the contents.

* * *

_To my most incompetent and subsequently most zealous subordinate,_

_Since you have been pestering me time and again about the fact that the hospital had insufficient training material for you, I convinced '_some people_' to ready this for you whilst you were still rehabilitating. Please stop bothering me about it anymore, I hope it's somewhat to your liking. If not, I'll still cut it off of your paycheck just to spite you.  
_

_I expect you to be in peak-condition A.S.A.P._

_Get strong soon,_

_\- Assoiate Special-Class, Houji Kousuke_

* * *

Amon Koutarou shook his head and returned the note to its original location. He let out a large sigh as he helped himself with a glass of water in the kitchen, downing the contents in a single chug. He glanced at the sleeping girl, who was snoozing away happily letting out a occasional purr or moan.

Anyone who disciplined their bodies deserved a point of respect in his book.

''You better get strong soon, I'll look forward to it.''

Amon was about to step out of the living room when sound of vibrations caught his eardrums, he briefly searched his pockets for his phone but when his eyes drift to the screen, he realized that it was not his cellular device that was transmitting vibrations. His body stirred as he saw movement out of the corner of his eyes.

The girl rose from the couch, lazily rubbing her eyes as she yawned. She dug inside her dress shirt and into her breasts, searching for something of value. She fell to sleep contently, after placing her still-vibrating smart-phone on a small stained glass table, murmuring something under her breath.

Amon felt the temperature in the room rise after he witnessed that, he wiped away the sweat that accumulated on his forehead. The investigator turned around ready to call it a day. and do another _thousand_ push-ups before going to bed. That is what he intended to do, what actually happened was that the phone's vibrations seeped into the glass creating an awful noise that reverberated through the entire house. Agitated, Amon strolled towards the cellphone to turn the vibration setting off.

He froze as he laid eyes upon the screen.

_Incoming Call: The Bossman **  
**_

He shook the woman beside him awake, and prepared himself for a _long_.. Night.

* * *

**!Scene Break!**

* * *

_**11:15 PM  
Furukawa ETERNAL Bakery, 2nd Ward**_

''This is going to be a _long_ night, isn't it?'' Izumi Shinichi whispered to himself as he saw the spectacle unfold before his eyes.

He threw his hands up in the air, strategically placing them just before his face.

''Look, I just want to buy some melon bread for my dad. I.. I.. Really don't want to be a guinea pig for your new-'' Shinichi averted his eyes from the multi-colored dough, ''-_Bread_..''

''Aw.. Just take a bite. You could be the very first person to taste the refined version of my mother's Rainbow Bread.'' An woman with amber eyes smiled warmly at him as she continues waggle forwards. The sample of her 'bread' glowed in all manner of colors.

The owner of the bakery older man with dark blue, messy hair let out a large groan as he cups his face in his hand, ''My darlingly dear wife.. No one is going to eat bread that looks like it had made in a nuclear facility. Will you just quit pestering our _only _customer that visited today?''

A younger girl stood beside the blue haired man, she merely addressed Shinichi with eyes that radiate pity for his circumstances. It caused the youth too tense up and laugh awkwardly, while he backed up slowly. He was more than glad enough that the older man lent some form of aid to him, especially since the woman was very passionate about her work. It felt indecent for him to voice his true thoughts about the.. _'bread'_.

Her legs seemed to shiver, shake and tremble as she caught those words. She bit her lower lip and her eyes fell downcast. Her arms retracted and she stepped to the side, giving Shinichi his personal space back. He let out a smile of relief as he stepped towards the counter of the bakery.

''Can I order some-''

''No need, kid. Your old man already relayed the order,'' The older man let out a toothy grin as he hand revealed a large paper bag.

Shinichi rolled his eyes, as he accepts the bag of melon bread and handed the man the a single thousand yen bill. He whirled on his feet to leave, but the man called out to him once more.

''Boy, you really are Izumi Shinichi, right?'' The elder man asked with narrowed eyes.

''I.. I..'' A sudden flood of sadness caught Shinichi completely off guard, he lowered his head out of a reflex.

An image of Satomi asking the same question whisked before his eyes, a slight sting sensation overwhelmed his left eye. Before he knew it salty tears flowed from it, he could only barely suppress the need of sobbing intensely. He did his best to smile as he rose his head once more, tears still welling from his left eye.

_'Live and be happy.'_

''Yeah, I am Izumi Shinichi. I am, and always will be.''

The younger girl who stood next the older man, poked him with her elbow as she express worry for Shinichi through her expression, ''Dad! You made him sad.''

She stepped closer to the counter and spoke softly, ''Shio is sorry, Papa always says the most insensitive stuff. Please Izumi-san, don't take it to heart.

The older man stood perplexed, ''Oh.. I.. Uh.. I'm sorry kid, I didn't mean to insult you or anything.''

Shinichi laid the paper bag on the counter in order to wipe away his tears, ''No.. Don't worry about it, you just said something that hit close to home, it's alright now.''

The man's gaze shifted to the girl beside him, ''Shio-chan, could you give Izumi the leftover Star Bread? I just feel bad for making him cry.''

''Uh.. Sir, that won't be needed, really I'm fine,'' He let out a strained smile.

''Nonsense, kid. You better take this or else I need to throw it out on the street. It's not like anyone eats my wife's bread anyway,'' The man added with a solemn smile.

''Dad?'' The teenage tugged at her father's shirt and merely pointed her finger towards her mother.

The man's line of sight followed the direction his daughter pointed he met the face of his wife who was on the verge of breaking into tears. The regret colored his face instantly, he vainly tried to motion to his wife to not do this now, but she simply ignored his protests. She opened her mouth, her lips trembled and her voice seemed hoarse in tone.

''So.. You think no one will eat my bread anyway!'' The woman stormed out of the shop.

The older man sighed vehemently, ''Shio-chan, please close up the shop.''

She nodded, silently accepting the task laid out for her. Her father grabbed all the bread he could find and stuffed it all simultaneously in his face. Shincihi would be immensely impressed, if the event didn't left him confused. The man rushed from the counter chased his wife out of the store.

''BUT I WUV FEM!'' Was all he managed to force from his mouth with all the bread lodged between his teeth.

Shinichi stared at the scene with enlarged eyes, ''Okay.. Then.''

When turned he turned back to the counter, the younger girl was only a hand breadth away from him. She examined his face as she held a paper bag, peering inside it Shinichi saw that it was filled to the brim with star-shaped bread. The girl extended her arms pressing the bag softly against his torso.

''Uh...'' The youth started.

''Take it.''

''I'd rather not..''

''Just take it.'' Shio mumbled softly.

Shinichi hung his head low in defeat for a moment, before bringing it right back up, accepting the paper bag, ''Sure.. Sure. It's not like a have a choice, right?''

The girl shook head, her lips formed a small smirk.

Shinichi sighed, ''I thought so.''

* * *

**...**

* * *

_**11:40 PM  
The Streets, 2nd ward**_

With a gentle pace Shinichi passed the familiar streets of his neighborhood, the lampposts alongside the road glowed in a mild yellow color. Cicadas swarmed around them, making that recognizable chirping sound that accompanied him most of his lifetime. With every step the youth took, the rustling of a singular paper bag caught his ears. His eyes took towards the skies, he beheld them with all the enthusiasm of a little boy. The superabundance of glimmering lights in the sky always reminded him of how vast human bonds are, every person represented a star; which are connected through the invisible bonds of the universe.

It was sometimes overwhelming to feel to so small amongst the workings of the world around him, but Izumi Shinichi liked it that way. It was quite simple if you looked at life in such a manner.

_'It's because we're so small that we could bring about the greatest changes.'_

A smile grew on his features as the plethora of stars gleamed in his eyes, but before long his gaze dropped downwards as the pitter patter of feet drew more and more closer to him.

''Finally decided to stop sneaking about?''

Shio from the bakery flanked his side, she nodded in response to his question with all the delicacy of a wounded swine.

''Why are you even following me?'' He asked as he faced the street once more.

She pointed towards the distance, ''Shio's house is over there.''

''So you decided to follow me instead? Shouldn't you join your parents?''

The girl shook her head, ''Papa and Mama tend to do this lots of times, so Shio thinks it's best to just await them at home.''

''I see..'' Shinichi bit his lip.

She turned towards him, ''Are you Grampa Kazu's son?''

Shinichi stifled his laughter, ''My old man isn't a gramps yet, but yes I am.''

The girl's head slid closer towards him, her eyes examined every inch of his body, ''You look just like him.''

''Well, he is my dad, so..'' Shinichi shrugged his shoulders.

She gazed on his features, before her head spun towards another direction, ''No.. More like when Gramps was younger.''

The youth's eyebrow shot upwards, ''Younger?''

His eyes tracked Shio, her short light brown hair swayed with every step she took. Her eyes the size of marbles as she inspected the stars with the same enthusiasm as he did. Her clothing white, pure, and unstained similar to her innocent demeanor and aura. If the young man didn't know any better, he would almost say that she is like a child in a adolescent's body.

Shinichi felt that he somehow knew her from somewhere, but the location, date and events didn't appear in his mind. He rubbed his free hand against his cranium, wondering what's happening to his mind, since memories seem to spilling like a leaking tap. As he focused his gaze on the girl he tried to speak, to open his mouth to validate the familiarity as truth.

''How do you know how my dad looked like when he was-''

''Ah!'' The girl gasped, ''Shio passed her street!''

Hurriedly, she spun on her feet and ran back around the corner she just missed moments before. Shinichi stood there in mild awe as the events slowly course through his mind.

''Wait!''

His voice came out far later than he wanted to. He could still catch up to her, he could still ask her where she knew his father from, he could still stave this throbbing sensation in the back of his skull. _He could_..

Releasing a heavy sigh, he continued onwards towards home.

Perhaps soon, he would find out, when _it's_ _the right time_..

* * *

**...**

* * *

**00:00 AM, Monday  
Izumi Household, 2nd Ward**

Shinichi slipped his shoes off and paced towards the living room, where his dad was clearly in combat with some crusty stains on the kotatsu. He grumbled as he dipped the sponge in the soapy liquid. The bucket nearly fell over from the force, he used to submerge it.

''I'm back. Here's your food.'' Shinichi threw the paper bag on the kotatsu, it immediately soaked in fluids.

Kazuyuki straightened his posture and swiped the paper bag off of the wet wood, ''Shinichi, could you watch it. You saw that was wet.''

The adolescent shrugged his shoulders as he made his way towards the fridge, with an water bottle in hand he made way towards his room. His body sagged while his thoughts diverted towards the softness of his woolen bedsheets.

''Shinichi.. What even is this?''

Curious the youth spun to see his father holding a piece of star-shaped bread between his finger tips. The youth's eyes widen, as he laid eyes on the singular bag. Didn't he have two of them? What happened to the second one he had, the one that contained the melon bread.

_'Melon bread..'_

Shinichi's gaze refocused on the bread that Kazuyuki pressed against his lips.

''Wait, dad! Don't it eat it's-''

His father spat out the slimy remains of the bread, and hacked as he tried to regain his breath, ''That was outright awful, what even is this horse crap?!''

Kazuyuki met his son's eyes with furrowed eyebrows, ''What happened to my melon bread? In fact, why did you even waste my money on... _this,_'' His eyes linked with the piece of bread, it radiated an awesome amount of disgust for it.

''I didn't buy it, it was..'' Shincihi stopped, and smacked his palm in his face, ''Oh for the love god!''

''I left the melon bread in the bakery.''

''Well go on and get it. Oh, take this putrid excuse of food to the trash,'' Kazuyuki mumbled as he wiped the corners of his mouth and resumed cleaning.

As he grabbed the bag of star bread, Shinichi loathed his lack of attention to his surroundings. Before he stepped out of the door, he recalled that he that the girl already closed up the bakery.

''Dad, do you know where the people from the bakery live?''

''Near the river, you know.. Uhmm, Where that small bridge was, with your kindergarten just around corner.'' His father responded.

''Thanks.''

With a _'thud'_ Shinichi closed the door behind him.

* * *

**...**

* * *

_**00:13 AM, Monday  
**__**Chiisana Kyuusuku, 2nd Ward**_

It was quite a surreal experience, Shinichi smiled as stood in front of his kindergarten. As his eyes scanned the gates and the building itself, memories of then faintly whispered to him. His life up until this point felt so insignificant, all the time he spent into forming himself to he is today did nothing noteworthy. Even when he received his very own answer to what being a human was about. It was snatched away from him, just like that.

He held up his hand to gate and squeezed it into a fist just before his fingers brushed it.

_'Gone..'_

It made him boil, it made him seethe. He saw his entire world within her smile, within her jokes, within her eyes. But the world was so cruel, because even though his world crumbled further by the day, the _true_ world continued onwards like nothing happened. Murano Satomi only lives on through him, and the world didn't even care about her. People like that purple haired ghoul still infested the world, people like Kabuto are too.

Shinichi gritted his teeth, his fist compressed tight enough to send signals of pain to his brain.

They were all bent on destruction, destruction for wealth, destruction for survival, destruction for safety, destruction for enjoyment. They were all the same, if anything we're all monsters in one way or another. Who's going to do something, no one else would?

Did he really need to throw himself away for such a futile cause?

Is that the only way to solidify her life as person? To honor her memory?

His nails dug deeper in his palms, he didn't know. What was he supposed to do now? How could he _'live and be happy'_ when his definition of happiness literally depended on _her_.

''Satomi,'' He whispered.

''I-''

The sound of metal clattering against the pavement aroused Shinichi's ears, he whirled towards the sound only to see a lamppost in the distance turn off. The sharp noise of breaking glass grated his ears, footsteps erupted. They grew louder by the second. The streets in front of his eyes, was consumed in the dark.

''What the..''

Shinichi's posture stiffened reflexively, his hands immediately slipped in a boxing pose. He realized this and tried to lower his hands, in order to remain of clear mind. His eyes widen, adjusting to darkness that dwelt the streets. Slowly the light of the moon exposed the truth.

The footsteps grew closer and more frantic, a bead of sweat rolls down his face. His hands twitched, and took a shallow breath.

''Anyone out there?'' He said with a tremble in his voice.

Short, breathy moans cut the air around him. Shinichi's distress grew, he stepped away from the gate of his kindergarten and proceeds to explore the shadows. Not because he was curious, but due to the fact that the road led to house of baker.

''Hell-''

An object forced itself deeply within Shinichi's torso, the wind was knocked out of his lungs and he crashed to ground. Instincts overtook him, and the first thing he did was to punch the shadow that nestled itself on his shirt. Flesh squished underneath the force of his fist, and the shadow spun off of Shinichi's body and was smashed into the wall opposing him.

While panting, he scrambled to his feet. He supported himself on the nearest wall, his fist trembled as his mind finally caught up to the situation at hand. His fist stung with pain and throbbed at a moment's notice. His eyes drifted to his fist and only redness contrasted the darkness.

Startled gasps free itself from his lips, ''What the hell!''

His mind went from zero to a hundred instantly, he dived at the shadow. His knees protested as they clash against the hard ground. He turned the downed person on it's back and immediately checked its vitals.

''Thank god,'' The youth noted that the person was still breathing.

When his eyes fully adjusted to the dark, he saw that punched a girl, the same girl who was the daughter of the baker. He dug in his clothing for his phone only to realize that he left it back at home.

He glanced at Shio, Shinchi gulped when he bowed so low that he felt like an ant for a moment.

''Please forgive me for this,'' He said, before digging into her clothing for her cellphone.

He stopped, as he felt frigid liquid all over her woolen sweater and pleated skirt. Shinichi's heart leaped in his body, as he examined it.

_'Blood_.'

That wasn't hers. The blood on his fist was still warm after all, this couldn't be because of his punch. He punched her hard, but not _that_ hard. His eyes went over her body. Cuts, bruises and scrapes littered it, her body was completely drenched in sweat and her clothes cut and torn.

''What even happened to you?'' He muttered in sheer awe.

When his hand reached out to her bruised cheek, a sound caught his superhuman ears. No, it wasn't a single sound. It was more akin to him hearing every sound in the neighborhood. The cats crying in the distance, the old who switched channels on his TV, the young boy who was playing a game on his phone, two people who were approaching him.

They were _running_.. Towards _him_.

He hoisted the girl in a bridal carry. The footsteps grew louder and louder, Shinichi panted as if the oxygen his lungs grew increasingly more frantic. His heartbeat skyrocketed, he needed to do something. The girl had seen something or someone, and now someone's chasing her down and seeing the state she's in.

They would want her captured, or _worse_...

_'I need to stay calm, I'm exaggerating this. Maybe she got in an accident or something? Mayb-'_

''Hello?'' A new voice called boomed.

Shinichi swallowed hard, his heart thumped harder and he felt his arms vibrate, ''Is anyone th-''

A man strolled around the corner, he was dressed in black hoodie and beige shorts. He wore something on his face, it was a _mask_.

It was The same Guy Fawkes mask, the mask of an ghoul.

Shinichi bolted away, his legs carried him as fast as he could. Lampposts rushed past him as he sped up, _faster_. _Faster_. _Faster_.

He could hear two pairs of footsteps chasing him. The were so close that he could even decipher that one of wore sandals, and the other preferred sneakers to hunt them down.

The girl bobbed up and down in his arms, his legs burned due to the sudden exertion. He didn't care, if he did not give anything he had, she would _die_. Shio would die and he'd be unable to anything again. He couldn't let that happen again, not again, not ever as long he's still breathing.

He wheezed, and he turned around the corner sharply. His foot nearly slipped, and in order regain his balance he lost, he shifts his weight towards his other foot. However, he forgot to calculate the girl that held his arms and overshot, forcing them both down to the ground. They slipped and crashed into pavement, rolling around until the momentum didn't propel them any further.

Shinichi winced as a large parts of his cheek was scraped off. It burned hotter than the flames during the Yamita incident, the pain nearly causes him panic.

However, the approaching footsteps quickly forced him back to reality. He had to save her, he had to bring her to his home, he must do something, _anything_. The wind was kicked hard out of his lungs. He hacked, as the sandal wearing assailant kept forcing his foot in his bowels. Shinichi could feel his frustration, joy and killing intent wafting off of his mask.

''You goddamn punk, trying to steal _MY_ goddamn meal, huh! HUH!''

The quantity and quality of the ghoul's kicks increased. The youth felt that his organs were being tossed around everywhere, he would vomit if he could. That is if the assailant hadn't wrapped his fingers around his throat and was strangling him to death. Shinichi's hands clawed at his arms, but no matter how much flesh he ripped away with his nails, the man's grip remained as firm as iron.

His consciousness dissolved, saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth. His head felt like it was going to pop like balloon. _Breathe_. He wanted to breathe so badly, he wanted to live. Croaks escaped his lips, his fingers grew weaker by the moment, till he had no more power to tear the man's arm to shreds.

All the while the man behind the mask seemed to beam. His red eyes staring hungrily into Shinichi's. The man crackled madly, as if the last thing he wanted was for Shinichi to hear his laughter.

It made Shinichi's blood boil, but no matter how angry he was, he was still powerless.

He was still _only_ human..

_'If only.. I had a weapon..'_

It cost a tremendous effort to simply keep his eyes open, eventually his eyelids fell..

_'Migi..'_

_..._

_'huh?'_

Shinichi's senses were dulled, only a faint beep rung around in his brain.

_'Why am I still.. breathing?'_

His hand felt hot, furnace levels of hotness. His lungs burned as he inhaled the icy air. Despite the pain, it was most refreshing to take a deep breath. After blinking his eyes multiple times, Shinichi found himself face-down on the pavement. The corner of his eye revealed a puddle of blood trying to submerge his face. He assumed that it was his cheek that was all scratched up, but as his eyes beheld a more clear image he saw that the blood did not come from cheek at all.

It was from a dismembered arm.

His eyes shot open and he stumbled backwards, narrowly avoiding another impact with the downed girl. Not a moment later he saw the hoodie wearing man screaming his lungs out of his body as he companion tried to stop the excessive bleeding. He screamed all kinds of profanities that Shinichi couldn't decipher at the moment.

''What..?'' Was all the he could manage to utter.

His arms slumped, and a distinct scratching clamor grated his eardrums. The youth winced and tried to cover his ears, only to nearly stab out his own eye.

''What the actual fuck?!''

His right hand contorted into a long, triangular, serrated blade of some kind. It was stained in the ghoul's blood, and blade _drank_ it. He could see the metal shifting restlessly in place, the wave-like movements made his arm shudder. His thoughts went out to Migi instantaneously, but the more he gazed at the living steel, the more he realized that it didn't recognize him it all. It was only silently vibrating in place, it felt all kinds of eerie to watch his reflection contort into monstrous ways. It felt as if eyes stared at him from within the steel itself.

Whatever that thing was, it was most definitely _not_ Migi..

He regained his footing, arousing the attention of the second man, he wore a more casual black shirt and jeans combo with mask. The man stepped into lamppost's lighting unveiling a large ax-like tentacle protruding from his shoulder. His eyes scrunched together and glowered, the man's tentacle rose above his head, preparing itself for battle.

Shinichi glanced behind him, the girl was still out cold and with the the condition of his mind he wasn't too confident in his chance to carry her out of danger. He braced the living steel, the only thing he had to do was incapacitate him. All this time he fought them on an uneven playing field, now he had the means to hurt them just as much as they did to the people who died at the Yamita incident; just as much as they hurt him.

It felt _ecstatic_.

The man rushed forwards, his tentacle outstretched in front of him and ready to kill. Shinichi's gaze hardened, he simply braced his blade-arm and walked towards the ghoul with all the nonchalantness of a suave hero. Fear dissipated completely, all that mattered was to hurt the ghoul. To hurt it badly enough that it'll never attack another human_ ever_ again.

The ghoul closed the distance within a second, and he would've written Shinichi off as dead, if didn't drop as low he could. The tentacle merely scathed his shirt as he ducked underneath it and delivered a blow to the abdomen with his elbow. The ghoul hunched forwards in pain, allowing the youth jump with all the power he could muster for a skull bash directly on his chin.

As the ghoul reeled back from the force, Shinichi used the momentum of his jump to bring down his blade-arm. Intending to slice through the Ghoul's cranium. However, the ghoul wasn't as dazed as Shinichi expected him to be, and dodged to the left. While Shinichi tracked the fleeing ghoul; his comrade joined the fray from the right.

The timespan between the attack was too short, even for him and a tentacle lodged itself into Shinichi's forearm, it was a last ditch effort to shield for his head. Pain assaulted his brain, but the adrenaline dulled the sensation. He quickly wrapped his injured arm around the tentacle and grasped it in his hand. His flesh sizzled as it came into contact with tentacle, he felt it dissolve, but he would worry later about the pain and scars.

The other ghoul tried to flank him once more, but Shinichi held him at bay by clashing his blade against the tentacle that was aimed for his neck. Using his injured arm, Shinichi tugged at the tentacle. The owner was pulled forwards by the superhuman force, and with swift foot work Shinichi disengaged the blade clash and twisted his body. The momentum of his body directed the weight of his blade-arm straight for his target.

''Naotarou, get out of there!''

Naotarou heard his comrade's warning too late and Shinichi's blade had already sliced through his torso. He fell to the asphalt, clutching at wound with his one good arm, his whimpering and moaning filled the night sky, and it made Shinichi feel like he was walking on air. Hearing the ghoul cry out in agony was titillating sensation for him. He didn't even notice the tentacle around his arm was dissolved, giving him free reign over his arm again.

The remaining ghoul was quick on his feet, he swung his large ax-like tentacle straight for Shinichi. Luckily, he managed wedge his blade between himself and instant death, but the force sent him careening into a wall behind him. The concrete cracked and caved beneath the force, and he fell down to pavement, on top of the unconscious girl.

His blade-arm burned with heat that was out of this world, it felt as if his entire arm was dipped in corrosive liquid. Shinichi yelped as the pain spread from his forearm all the way to the nerves in his back. The living steel contorted outwards, losing it's stable, sharp form. It shivered and warped Shinichi's flesh and bones out of place like a blender. The sight of it was maddening.

''I don't know what you are,'' The ghoul snarled as he approached, ''But it's over for the both of you.''

Shinichi whimpered as he tried to stand, his body complained through the usage of pain. His legs hurt, his back hurt, his head felt light, his cheek stung with pain, his left arm leaked like a water tap and his right arm burned up quicker than he could even register. He bit his lip as the ghoul advanced, merely crawling on top of the girl and bracing himself for the worst.

If this is the way he has to go, he'll be damned to let that ghoul hurt her.

The only thing that came was ear piercing scream from the ghoul as he rend in two by the largest weapon he had ever seen. The weapon pulsated a red glow as it bit into the ghouls flesh, cutting cleanly in half. The wielder was a woman with auburn hair. She was flanked by two other men one the of a size that was unheard of in Japan, the other was just half a head taller than him just like his dad.

''Amon-kun, please detain the injured ghoul on the scene, I don't feel like having my back split open by a kagune today,'' One of men voiced.

The towering man nodded, before leaving the area and by extension, Shinichi's weakening senses. The woman however approached in a blasé manner and him lifted off the ground effortlessly with a single hand as her eyes scanned both his and the girl's body.

''I'll go survey the area, I'm certain that there are some distressed civilians out there. Could you ring Academy City anyway? In case we spot someone who knows too much,'' The same man stated, before power walking off to the distance.

The woman gave no retort, and after she noted that one she was holding her hand was Izumi Shinichi. She couldn't help but to crack a smile at the wounded young man.

''You did a number on this place, Izumi-san.''

He coughed up blood, ''Well.. I had to since the cavalry was late.''

''You might want to call us next time around.''

Shinichi voice cracked as he spoke, ''Hindsight is twenty twenty.''

''You still look like shit, though.''

''Trying-'' The youth emptied out his stomach on the unaware girl, ''-To be funny.. Are we?''

A look of disgust crossed her face as she placed Shinichi against the cracked wall. As the woman bent down to examine the vomit covered Shio, Shinichi finally recognized the woman as Houji's subordinate. His attention was then directed to his right hand and much to his relief it was just an ordinary hand that stared back at him.

''Incapable of saving someone, my big fat ass,'' She said off-handedly.

''What?''

''You just saved this girl's life like nobodies business. I don't know what you did, but you did well, Izumi-san.''

Shinichi laughed, despite the fact the his body was crying internally.

''I knew I was right about you, I had a feeling and guess where you stand, right _here_,'' She rose and met his gaze with unwavering attention.

''I guess that this is the part where you ask me to join again, isn't it?''

''Smart boy,'' She mouthed with a glee.

His eyes went of the unconscious girl, he internally apologized for vomiting on her. His attention then focused to his wounds, then the woman before him and finally the stars that twinkled in the midnight sky. It took him several minutes of contemplating, but he finally found his decision. He was meant to save others from the pain he experienced, if turned this opportunity away how he ever even face Satomi in afterlife?

''I'm in,'' he said softly, ''When do I start?''

The woman's determined gaze softened to a warm smile, ''Wonderful. You'll begin when you're patched up, because when I'm through with you, you'll be in an even worse shape than Mr. Grinder over there.'' She pointed behind her, indicating the ghoul who was being handled by the lanky man.

''That's..'' Shinichi gulped, ''_very_ reassuring,''

She stepped closer and reached out to him with her gloved hand, ''I'll be your mentor from now on, Izumi.''

Shinichi noted that she dropped the politeness in her voice, he clasped her hand with his trusty right, his fingers tingled as they curled around the woman's palm, ''I'll be in your care, uh..''

Her eyes shimmered in the moon light as her lips parted to speak, her hand squeezed his a little tighter.

''It's Yisha. Yu Zhu Yisha.''

* * *

_CCG DATA LOG #130495_  
_Written by: Houji Kousuke_

* * *

General Information

Full Name: Izumi Shinichi  
Alias/Nickname: N/A  
Gender: Masculine  
Age: 21  
Place Of Birth: Tokyo, Japan  
Eye Color: Brown  
Hair Color: Brown  
Height: 160 cm  
Weight: 75 kg  
Occupation: Freelance Writer

Relatives

Father - Izumi Kazuyuki, Age 49 [Alive]  
Mother - Izumi Nobuko [Desceased]  
Significant Other - Murano Satomi [Desceased]

CCG Employee Data

CCG Rank: N/A [Prospect Rank 3 Investigator]  
CCG Employee Number: N/A [Prospect Ghoul Investigator]  
Investigator Type: N/A  
Status: Alive  
Awards: N/A  
Mentor: N/A  
Subordinate(s): N/A

Combat Information

Quinque: N/A  
Quinque Type: N/A  
Quinque Rank: N/A  
Quinque Rank Recommendation: N/A  
Combat Skill Ranking: E [Incapable of combating lesser Ghouls]  
Ghouls Captured: N/A  
Ghouls Exterminated: N/A


End file.
